The drawing shows two situations in which charges are placed on the x and y axes. They are all located at the same distance of 27.4 cm from the origin O. For each of the situations in the drawing, determine the magnitude of the net electric field at the origin.
pls help
To determine the magnitude of the net electric field at the origin for each situation, you need to calculate the individual electric fields produced by each charge and then add them together vectorially.
The electric field produced by a point charge is given by the equation:
E = k * (Q / r^2)
Where:
E is the electric field
k is the Coulomb's constant (9 x 10^9 Nm^2/C^2)
Q is the magnitude of the charge
r is the distance between the charge and the point where the electric field is being calculated.
In each situation, there are two charges: one on the x-axis and one on the y-axis. Let's call the charge on the x-axis Qx and the charge on the y-axis Qy.
Situation 1:
Qx = +2.2 µC (assuming positive charge)
Qy = -4.5 µC (assuming negative charge)
r = 27.4 cm = 0.274 m
To calculate the electric field produced by Qx at the origin (E1x), use the equation above with Q = +2.2 µC and r = 0.274 m.
E1x = (9 x 10^9 Nm^2/C^2) * [(2.2 x 10^-6 C) / (0.274 m)^2]
Similarly, to calculate the electric field produced by Qy at the origin (E1y), use the equation above with Q = -4.5 µC and r = 0.274 m.
E1y = (9 x 10^9 Nm^2/C^2) * [(-4.5 x 10^-6 C) / (0.274 m)^2]
The net electric field at the origin in Situation 1 will be the vector sum of E1x and E1y. To find the magnitude, use the Pythagorean theorem:
E1_net = sqrt((E1x)^2 + (E1y)^2)
Similarly, you can perform the same calculations for Situation 2, using the given charges Qx and Qy.
Once you have the electric field magnitudes for both situations, you can compare the results and determine the magnitude of the net electric field at the origin in each situation.