A 5.0 {\rm nC} point charge sits at x = 0. At the same time, a 3100 {\rm N/C} uniform electric field (created by distant source charges) points in the positive x-direction.
What does {\rm mean?
Is it necessary at all?
To determine the force experienced by the 5.0 nC point charge in the given electric field, we can use the formula:
F = q * E
where F is the force, q is the charge, and E is the electric field.
In this case, the charge q is 5.0 nC (nanocoulombs) and the electric field E is 3100 N/C (newtons per coulomb).
First, we need to convert the charge from nC to coulombs. 1 nC is equal to 1e-9 C (coulombs). Therefore, the charge can be written as:
q = 5.0 nC = 5.0e-9 C
Now, we can substitute the values into the formula:
F = (5.0e-9 C) * (3100 N/C)
Calculating the product:
F = 1.55e-5 N
The force experienced by the 5.0 nC point charge in the given electric field is 1.55e-5 N (newtons) in the positive x-direction.
Note: When solving numerical problems, it's important to pay attention to the units and make any necessary conversions. In this case, we converted the charge from nanocoulombs to coulombs to ensure consistency in the units.