Which of the following affects the strength of electric attraction/repulsion more: The magnitude of the charge or the distance between them?
(Standard SPS10 c)
A. The magnitude
B. The distance
C. Neither. They affect the strength the same amount
Is it B or C?
The question is vague
F = k Q1 Q2 / d^2
if you double the distance, you get 1/4 the force
if you cut ONE charge in half , you get 1/2 the force
So that would be B
However:
If you cut BOTH charges in half, you get 1/4 the force.
I think they want the first answer but I do not think the question is worded clearly.
Thank you
The correct answer is B. The distance between charges affects the strength of electric attraction/repulsion more than the magnitude of the charges. According to Coulomb's Law, the force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that as the distance between charges increases, the strength of the electric force decreases, regardless of the magnitudes of the charges involved.
To determine which factor affects the strength of electric attraction/repulsion more—magnitude of the charge or the distance between them—we can examine the relevant physics principle involved, known as Coulomb's Law.
Coulomb's Law states that the force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges (magnitude) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Mathematically, it can be expressed as:
F = k * (|q1| * |q2|) / r^2
where:
F is the force between the charges,
k is the electrostatic constant,
|q1| and |q2| are the magnitudes of the charges, and
r is the distance between the charges.
Analyzing the equation, we see that both the magnitude of the charges and the distance between them affect the force. However, the distance is squared in the denominator, whereas the magnitude is in the numerator. This means that changes in distance have a more significant effect on the force than changes in charge magnitude.
Therefore, the correct answer is B. The distance between the charges has a greater impact on the strength of the electric attraction/repulsion compared to the magnitude of the charge.