Two 5 μC balloons 25 cm apart. Repulsive force?

Question

Two 5 μC balloons 25 cm apart. Repulsive force??  
A. 0.36 N  
B. 3.6 N  
C. 10⁻³ N  
D. 5×10⁻³ N

Accepted Answer

Correct Answer: (A)0.36 N. 
Rationale: The repulsive force between the two balloons is 3.6 N.The electric force between two charged objects is calculated using Coulomb’s law, which states that the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The relationship is:electric force equals Coulomb’s constant multiplied by the product of the charges, divided by the square of the separation distanceCoulomb’s constant has a value of 9 × 10 to the power of 9 newton–meters squared per coulomb squared. The symbols q₁ and q₂ represent the charges, and r represents the separation distance.In this problem, each balloon has a charge of 5 microcoulombs, which is equal to 5 × 10 to the power of minus 6 coulombs, and they are separated by 25 centimeters, which is 0.25 meters.Substituting the values gives:electric force equals (9 × 10 to the power of 9) multiplied by (5 × 10 to the power of minus 6) multiplied by (5 × 10 to the power of minus 6), divided by (0.25 squared)electric force equals (9 × 10 to the power of 9) multiplied by 25 × 10 to the power of minus 12, divided by 0.0625electric force equals 0.225 divided by 0.0625electric force equals 3.6 newtonsA) 0.36 NThis value is too small by a factor of ten. It likely results from a decimal error during the final division step when applying Coulomb’s law.B) 3.6 NThis value comes directly from correctly applying Coulomb’s law with the given charges and distance. The calculation shows that the magnitude of the repulsive force is 3.6 newtons, making this the correct answer.C) 10⁻³ NThis force is far too small and would only occur if either the charges were much smaller or the distance much larger than given.D) 5 × 10⁻³ NLike option C, this value underestimates the force by several orders of magnitude and does not match the calculation using Coulomb’s law.ConclusionUsing Coulomb’s law with two charges of 5 microcoulombs separated by 0.25 meters gives a repulsive force of 3.6 newtons, so the correct answer is B.

Two 5 μC balloons 25 cm apart. Repulsive force?

A
0.36 N

B
3.6 N

C
10⁻³ N

D
5×10⁻³ N

The repulsive force between the two balloons is 3.6 N.

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Related Questions

Two 5 μC balloons 25 cm apart. Repulsive force?

A 0.36 N B 3.6 N C 10⁻³ N D 5×10⁻³ N

The repulsive force between the two balloons is 3.6 N.

Topic Flashcards

Mini Quiz

Related Questions

A
0.36 N

B
3.6 N

C
10⁻³ N

D
5×10⁻³ N