The drawing shows three point charges fixed in place. The charge at the coordinate origin has a value of q1 = +8.50 µC; the other two have identical magnitudes, but opposite signs: q2 = -5.50 µC and q3 = 5.5 µC.
(a) Determine the net force (magnitude and direction) exerted on q1 by the other two charges
To determine the net force exerted on q1 by the other two charges, we can use Coulomb's Law. Coulomb's Law states that the force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The equation for Coulomb's Law is:
F = k * abs(q1) * abs(q2) / r^2
where:
F is the force between the two charges,
k is the electrostatic constant (k = 8.99 x 10^9 N·m^2/C^2),
abs(q1) and abs(q2) are the magnitudes of the charges,
and r is the distance between the charges.
Let's calculate the net force:
1. Calculate the force between q1 and q2:
F12 = k * abs(q1) * abs(q2) / r12^2
2. Calculate the force between q1 and q3:
F13 = k * abs(q1) * abs(q3) / r13^2
3. Calculate the net force:
Net Force = F12 + F13
To calculate the distances between the charges, we need more information. Please provide the distances between q1 and q2 (r12) and between q1 and q3 (r13).