Determine the electric force of a -8.0uc charge would experience when placed 14cm to the left of a 5.0uc charge.
got 18N, but I'm not sure if I add the negative to the answer
To determine the electric force between two charges, you can use Coulomb's law. Coulomb's law states that the electric force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
In this case, you have:
Charge 1 (q1) = -8.0 μC (negative charge)
Charge 2 (q2) = 5.0 μC (positive charge)
Distance (r) = 14 cm = 0.14 m
To calculate the electric force (F), you can use the formula:
F = k * (|q1| * |q2|) / r^2
where k is the electrostatic constant, equal to 9 × 10^9 N·m²/C².
Since both charges are given in microcoulombs (μC), you need to convert them to coulombs (C) by dividing by 10^6.
Calculating the electric force:
F = (9 × 10^9 N·m²/C²) * ((8.0 × 10^-6 C) * (5.0 × 10^-6 C)) / (0.14 m)^2
F = (9 × 10^9 N·m²/C²) * (4.0 × 10^-11 C²) / 0.0196 m²
F ≈ 1.84 N
Since the force between the charges is attractive due to the opposite signs of the charges, you should include the negative sign in the answer.
Therefore, the electric force experienced by the -8.0 μC charge when placed 14 cm to the left of the 5.0 μC charge is approximately -1.84 N.