A balloon, when rubbed against denim, gains a charge of -10ìC. The force between the balloon and the denim when they are separated by a distance of 5 cm is:

To determine the force between the balloon and the denim, we can use Coulomb's Law, which states that the force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Coulomb's Law Formula:
F = k * (|q1| * |q2|) / r^2

Where:
F = force between the charged objects
k = Coulomb's constant (approximated as 9 x 10^9 N m^2/C^2)
|q1| and |q2| = magnitudes of the charges on the objects
r = distance between the objects

Given:
Charge on the balloon (|q1|) = -10ìC (negative because it has gained charge)
Charge on the denim (|q2|) = unknown (assumption: 0ìC, since it is not specified)
Distance (r) = 5 cm = 0.05 m

Substituting the values into the formula:
F = (9 x 10^9) * (|-10ìC| * |0ìC|) / (0.05m)^2

Note: Since the magnitude of the charge on the denim is assumed to be 0ìC, it effectively cancels out in the formula.

Simplifying the equation:
F = (9 x 10^9) * (10ìC * 0ìC) / (0.05m)^2
F = (9 x 10^9) * 0 / 0.0025m^2
F = 0 N

Therefore, the force between the balloon and the denim when they are separated by a distance of 5 cm is 0 Newtons. This indicates that there is no electrostatic force acting between them.