Two pellets, each with a charge of 0.80 microcoulomb (8.0×10−7 C), are located 4.0 cm (4.0×10−2 m) apart. Find the electric force between them, which I solved for 3.6 N.
I am stuck on the next part:
What would be the mass of an object that would experience this same force in Earth's gravitational field?
To find the mass of an object that would experience the same force in Earth's gravitational field as the electric force between the two pellets, you can use Newton's second law of motion.
Newton's second law states that the force (F) acting on an object is equal to the mass (m) of the object multiplied by its acceleration (a). In this case, we can assume that the object is at rest, so its acceleration is zero. Therefore, the force (F) acting on the object is equal to the product of its mass (m) and the acceleration due to gravity (g).
The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s^2. So, we can set up the equation as follows:
F = m * g
Since we know the force (F) from the electric force between the pellets is 3.6 N, we can substitute it into the equation:
3.6 N = m * 9.8 m/s^2
Now we can solve for the mass (m). Rearranging the equation, we get:
m = 3.6 N / 9.8 m/s^2
m ≈ 0.37 kg
Therefore, an object with a mass of approximately 0.37 kg would experience the same force in Earth's gravitational field as the electric force between the two pellets.