Chapter 18: Electrostatics

Assignment

Electric Charge (a)

How could you find out which strip of tape, the one pulled
off the desk or the one pulled off the back of the other tape,
is positively charged ?

The combined charge of all electrons in a nickel coin is

hundreds of thousands of coulombs, a unit of electrical
charge. Does that imply anything about the net charge on
the coin? Explain.

Answer
Answer
Rub a piece of hard plastic with wool. The plastic is
charged negatively. It will repel the negatively
charged strip of tape and attract the positively charged
one.
2

Suppose you attach a long metal rod to a plastic handle so

the rod is isolated. You touch a charged glass rod to one
end of the metal rod. Describe the charges on the metal rod.

No. Net charge is the difference between positive and

negative charges. It can still be zero.

List some insulators and conductors.

Answer

Answer

Student answers will vary, but may include dry air,

wood, plastic, glass, cloth, and deionized water as
insulators; and metals, tap water, and your body as
conductors.

The glass rod was positively charged. This charge

spreads over the entire metal rod, charging it
positively.

In the 1730s, Stephan Gray tried to see how far electrical

charge could be conducted by metal rods. He hung metal
rods by thin silk cords from the ceiling. When the rods were
longer than 293 feet, the silk broke. Gray replaced the silk
with stronger wires made of brass, but now the experiments
failed. The metal rod would no longer transmit charge from
one end to the other. Why?

What property makes a metal a good conductor and rubber

a good insulator?
Answer
Metals contain free electrons; rubber has bound
electrons.

Answer
9
Brass is a conductor. The electric charge flowed into
the ceiling instead of along the metal rod.

Why does a woolen sock taken from a clothes dryer

sometimes cling to other clothes?
Answer

Suppose there was a third type of charge. What experiments

could you suggest to explore its properties?

It has been charged by the tumbling of the clothes and

is attracted to the other clothing.

Answer
10
If the new type is different from the other two types,
then it should repel (or attract) both positively and
negatively charged objects.

If you wipe a stereo record with a clean cloth, why does the
record now attract dust?
Answer
Rubbing the record charges it. Neutral particles such
as dust are attracted to a charged object.

If you comb your hair on a dry day, the comb can become
positively charged. Can your hair remain neutral? Explain.
Answer

How does the charge of an electron differ from the charge

of a proton?

No. By conservation of charge, your hair must

become negatively charged.

Answer

11

The charge of the proton is exactly the same size as

the electron, but has the opposite sign.

Chapter 18: Electrostatics

Assignment

Electric Charge (a)

12

13

14

If you scuff electrons from your feet while walking across a

rug, are you now negatively charged or positively charged?

17

Explain why a balloon that has been rubbed on a wool shirt

sticks to the wall .

Answer

Answer

When you lose electrons, you become positively

charged.

The balloon becomes charged by rubbing. It is

attracted to the neutral wall because it separates the
charges in the wall.

Using a charged rod and an electroscope, how can you find

if an object is a conductor?

18

Name three methods to charge an object.

Answer

Answer

Use a known insulator to hold one end of the object

against the electroscope. Touch the other end with the
charged rod. If the electroscope indicates a charge, the
object is a conductor.

conduction,
friction,
induction

Explain why an insulator that is charged can be discharged

by passing it above a flame.

19

Explain how to charge a conductor negatively if you have

only a positively-charged rod.
Answer

Answer
Without touching the conductor, bring it close to, but
not touching, the rod. Momentarily touch the side of
the conductor farthest from the rod. The conductor
will be charged by induction.

The hot gases above the flame are a plasma, which

acts as a conductor and pulls excess charges away
from the insulator.

15

A charged rod is brought near a pile of tiny plastic spheres.

Some of the spheres are attracted to the rod, but as soon as
they touch the rod, they fly away in different directions.
Explain .

20

The text describes Coulomb's method for obtaining two

charged spheres, A and B, so that the charge on B was
exactly half the charge on A. Suggest a way Coulomb
could have placed a charge on sphere B that was exactly
one third the charge on sphere A.

Answer
Answer
The neutral spheres are initially attracted to the
charged rod and all acquire the same charge as the rod
when they touch it. subsequently, they are repelled
from each other and from the rod.

16

A rod-shaped insulator is suspended so it can rotate. A

negatively-charged comb held nearby attracts the rod.
(a) Does this mean the rod is positively charged? Explain.
(b) If the comb repelled the rod, what could you conclude,
if anything, about the charge on the rod?
Answer
(a) No. Neutral objects are attracted by either charge.
(b) It must be negative. Neutrals are never repelled .

After charging spheres A and B equally, sphere B is

touched to two other equally sized balls that are
touching each other. The charge on B will be divided
equally among all three balls, leaving 1/3 the total
charge on it.

Chapter 18: Electrostatics

Assignment

Separation of Charged Bodies (b)

21

Salt water drips slowly from a narrow dropper inside a

negatively-charged metal ring, as seen in the figure.
(a) Will the drops be charged?
(b) If they are charged, are they positive or negative?

24

Explain what happens to the leaves of a positively-charged

electroscope when rods with the following charges are
nearby but not touching the electroscope.
(a) positive
(b) negative
Answer
(a) The leaves will move farther
apart.
(b) The leaves will droop slightly.

25

If two identical charges, 1.000 C each, are separated by a

distance of 1.00 km, what is the force between them?
Answer

Answer

+9.0 x 103 N

(a) yes
(b) The drops will be positive by induction.
26
22

Benjamin Franklin once wrote that he had "erected an iron

rod to draw the lightning down into my house, in order to
make some experiment on it, with two bells to give notice
when the rod should be electrify'd...." The chime had two
small bells mounted side by side. One bell was connected to
the iron rod for a charge; the other bell was attached to
Earth. Between the two bells, a small metal ball was
suspended on a silk thread so it could swing back and forth,
striking the two bells. Explain why, when the one bell was
charged, the ball would keep swinging, hitting first one bell
then the other.

Answer
-1.1 x 108 N; the force is attractive.

27

Answer
(The metal ball is neutral initially. It is attracted
toward the charged bell. When it hits, it becomes
charged. The ball is now repelled. It is now attracted
to the uncharged bell. It hits this bell, becomes
discharged, and starts up the process again.

23

Two point charges are separated by 10.0 cm. If one charge

is +20.00 mC and the other is -6.00 mC, what is the force
between them?

Two identical point charges are 3.00 cm apart. Find the

charge on each of them if the force of repulsion is 4.00 x 10
-7
N
Answer
+2.0 + 10-10C

28

Lightning usually occurs when a negative charge in a cloud

is transported to Earth. If Earth is neutral, what provides the
attractive force that pulls the electrons toward Earth?

A charge of 4.0 x 10-5 C is attracted by a second charge

with a force of 350 N when the separation is 10.0 cm.
Calculate the size of the second charge.
Answer
-9.7 x 10-6C

Answer
(The charge in the cloud repels electrons on Earth,
causing a charge separation by induction. The side of
Earth closest to the cloud is positive, resulting in an
attractive force.

29

Two positive charges of 6.0 x 10-6 C are separated by 0.50

m. What force exists between the charges?
Answer
1.296 N

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Coulomb's Law (c)

30

31

A negative charge of -2.0 x 10-4 C and a positive charge of

8.0 x 10-4 C are separated by 0.30 m. What is the force
between the two charges?

36

Two identical positive charges exert a repulsive force of 6.4

x 10-9 N when separated by a distance of 3.8 x 10-10 m.
Calculate the charge of each.

Answer

Answer

-1.6 x 104N

3.2 x 10-19C

A negative charge of -6.0 x 10-6 C exerts an attractive force

of 65 N on a second charge 0.050 m away. What is the
magnitude of the second charge?

37

Find the force between a positive charge of 1.0

microcoulombs and a positive charge of 2.0 microcoulombs
when they are 0.030 m apart? (1 microcoulomb = 1 x 10-6
coulombs)

Answer
Answer
3.0 x 10-6C

32

Object A has a charge + 1.8 x 10-6 C. Object B has a charge

-1.0 x 10-6 C. They are 0.014 m apart.
(a) What is the force on A?
(b) What is the force on B?

20 N
38

A negative charge of -2.0 x 10-4 C and a positive charge of

8.0 x 10-4 C are separated by 0.30 m. What is the force
between the two charges?
Answer

Answer
83 N toward A;
83 N toward B

33

-15,964 N
39

A positive and a negative charge, each of magnitude 1.5 x

10-5 C, are separated by a distance of 15 cm. Find the force
on each of the particles.

Suppose you are testing Coulomb's law using a small,

charged plastic sphere and a large, charged metal sphere.
Both are charged positively. According to Coulomb's law,
the force depends on 1/d2, where d is the distance between
the centers of the spheres. As the two spheres get close
together, the force is smaller than expected from Coulomb's
law. Explain.

Answer
Answer

90 N, toward the other charge

34

The charges on the large metal sphere are repelled and

move away from the small sphere, reducing the force.

Two negatively-charged bodies with -5.0 x 10-5 C are 0.20

m from each other. What force acts on each particle?
Answer

40

5.6 x 102 N

35

Answer

A force of -4.4 x 103 N exists between a positive charge of

8.0 x 10 -4 C and a negative charge of -3.0 x 10-4 C. What
distance separates the charges?
Answer
0.70 m

Two identical point charges are separated by a distance of

3.0 cm and they repel each other with a force of 4.0 x 10-5
N. What is the new force if the distance between the point
charges is doubled?

1.0 x10-5 N

41

An electric force of 2.5 x 10-4 N acts between two small

equally-charged spheres which are 2.0 cm apart. Calculate
the force acting between the spheres if the charge on one of
the spheres is doubled and the spheres move to a 5.0-cm
separation.
Answer
7.9 x 10-5 N

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Variations in Coulomb's Law (d)

42

Two charged bodies exert a force on each other of 16

millinewtons. What will be the force between the same two
bodies if the distance between them is halved?

47

Answer

Three particles are placed in a line. The left particle has a

charge of -67 x 10-6 C, the middle, +45 x 10-6C,and the
right, -83 x 10-6 C. The middle particle is 72 cm from each
of the others.
(a) Find the net force on the middle particle.
(b) Find the net force on the right particle.

64 millinewtons or .064 newtons

Answer
43

Coulomb's law and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

appear similar. In what ways are the electrical and
gravitational forces similar? How are they different?
Answer

(a) 12.5 N, right

(b) 40.7 N, left

48

Similar: inverse-square dependence on distance, force

proportional to product of two masses or two charges.
Different: only one sign of mass, so gravitational
force is always attractive, while there are two signs of
charge, so electrical force is either attractive or
repulsive.

44

Coulombs Law and the Universal gravitational Law are

very similar.
(a) Calculate the repulsive Coulomb force between two
protons 4 x 10-15 m apart inside a nucleus.
(b) Calculate the gravitational force of attraction between
the two protons.
(c) Why doesn't a force of such magnitude, acting on a
proton of mass about 1.67 x 10-24 g, cause the nucleus to fly
apart?
Answer

Answer
(a) 3.7 x 102 N,away
(b) 92 N, toward
(c) Refer to Problems and Solutions Manual for
diagram.

49

(a) 14.4 N
(b) 1.17 x 10-35 N
(c)

45

Three particles are placed on a straight line. The left

particle has a charge of +4.6 x l0-6 C, the middle particle has
a charge of -2.3 x l0-6 C, and the right particle has a charge
of -2.3 x l0-6 C. The left particle is 12 cm from the middle
particle and the right particle is 24 cm from the middle
particle. The left particle is now moved directly above the
middle particle, still 12 cm away. Find the force on the
middle particle.
Answer
Hard
7.2 to the left or vertical
6.6 N

46

A positive charge of 3.0 x 10-6 C is pulled on by two

negative charges. One, -2.0 x 10-5 C, is 0.050 m to the north
and the other, -4.0 x 10-6 C, is 0.030 m to the south. What
total force is exerted on the positive charge?
Answer
-9 N, North

Two charges, q1, and q2, are at rest near a positive test
charge, q, of 7.2 x 10-6 C. The first charge, q1, is a positive
charge of 3.6 x 10-6 C, located 0.025 m away from q at 350;
q2 is a negative charge of -6.6 x 10-6 C, located 0.068 m
away at 1250.
(a) Determine the magnitude of each of the forces acting
on q.
(b) Sketch a force diagram.
(c) Graphically determine the resultant force acting on q.

A small plastic sphere coated with a thin metalized surface

has mass 0.05 g and carries a charge of +8 x 10-9 C. It is
suspended by a light insulating thread at a point 3 cm below
the center of a small fixed conducting sphere carrying -5 x
10-9 C. The thread is cut.
(a) What is the electrostatic acceleration upward?
(b) What is the net or observed acceleration?
Answer
(a) 8.0 m/s
(b) 1.8 m/s2 downward

50

A charge Q1 = +10 x 10-9 C on the x axis at x = 0, and a

second charge Q2 = +3 x 10-9 C is on the x axis at x = 5 m.
A third charge Q3 = -10 x 10-9 C is placed on the x axis at x
= 15 m. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the force
on Q2.
Answer
13.5 x 10-9 N toward the right

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

The Superpositon Principal (Planar) (g)

51

A triangle ABC, marked out on a flat surface, has sides of

the following lengths: AB = 4 m, BC = 5 m, and AC = 3 m.
At the corners are the following charges: -40 x 10-6 C at A,
-160 x 10-6 C at B, and +90 x 10-6 C at (C) What are the
magnitude and direction of the net force on the charge at A?

57

Answer

Answer

5.09 N, 45 degrees from AC, 135 degrees from AB

52

Three charges, each of +80 x 10-6 C, are equally spaced

along a straight line, successive charges being 6 m apart.
(a) Calculate the force on one of the end charges.
(b) Calculate the force on the central charge.

Two Ping-Pong balls painted with aluminum paint are

suspended from the same point by threads 50 cm long. The
mass of each ball is 20 g. When equal charges are given to
the two balls, they come to rest in an equilibrium position in
which their centers are 60 cm apart. Calculate the charge
on each ball.

2.42 x 10-6 C

58

Two small spheres each having a mass of 0.050 g are

suspended by silk threads from the same point. When
given equal charges, they separate, the threads make an
angle of 10 degrees with each other. What is the force of
repulsion acting on each sphere?

Answer
Answer

(a) 2.00 N away from the center

(b) 0 newtons on the center charge.

53

Three masses, each of +80 x 106 kg, are equally spaced

along a straight line, successive masses are 6.00 m apart.
(a) Calculate the force on one of the end masses.
(b) Calculate the force on the central mass.

4.3 x 10-5 N

59

Answer

Answer

(a) 1.48 x 104 N

(b) 0
54

55

56

Equal charges of +15 x 10-6 C are placed at the four corners

of a square 0.3 m on a side. Calculate the magnitude and
direction of the force on one of the charges.

Two small spheres each having a mass of 0.10 g are

suspended from the same point on silk threads 20 cm long.
When given equal charges, they repel each other, coming to
rest 24 cm apart. Find the charge on each sphere?

6.86 x 10-8 C

60

How many excess electrons are on a ball with a charge of

-4.00 x 10-17 C?

Answer

Answer

43.1 N outward along the diagonal

250 electrons

Equal masses of 15 x 106 kg are placed at the four corners

of a square 3 m on a side. Calculate the magnitude and
direction of the force on one of the masses.

61

A strong lightning bolt transfers about 25 C to Earth. How

many electrons are transferred?

Answer

Answer

3206 N

1.6 x 1020 electrons

Equal charges of +8 x 10-6 C are placed at the three corners

of an equilateral triangle 2 m on a side. Calculate the
magnitude and direction of the force on one of the charges.
Answer
.249 N away from the triangle, perpendicular to the
opposite base.

62

How many electrons would be required to have a total

charge of 1.00 C on a sphere?
Answer
6.25 x 1018 electrons

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Descriptive Electrostatics (a)

63

When a rubber rod is rubbed with wool, the rod becomes

negatively charged. What can you conclude about the
magnitude of the wool's charge after the rubbing process?
Why?

69

Answer
magnitude of wool's charge equals magnitude of rod's
charge; charge is conserved

A small cork with an excess charge of +6 C (1 C = 10-6

C) is placed 0.12 m from another cork, which carries a
charge of -4.3 C.
(a) What is the magnitude of the electric force between the
corks?
(b) Is theis force atractive or repulsive
(c) How man excessive electrons are on te negative cork?
(d) How many electrons has the postive cork lost?
Answer

64

A typical lightning bolt has about 10.0 C of charge. How

many excess electrons are in a typical lightning bolt?

(a) 16 N
(b) attractive
(c) 2.7 x 1013 electrons
(d) 3.8 x 1013 electrons

Answer
6.25 x 1019 electrons
65

If you stick a piece of transparent tape on your desk and

then quickly pull it off, you will find that the tape is
attracted to other areas of your desk that are not charged.
Why does this happen?

70

Answer

Answer

39.3 cm

The tape induces a surface charge on the desk, so the

two are attracted to one another.
71
66

Two electrostatic point charges of +60 C and +50.0 C

exert a repulsive force on each other of 175 N. What is the
distance between the two charges?

Metals such as copper and silver can become charged by

induction while plastic materials cannot. Explain why.

Consider three point charges at the corners of a triangle, as

shown in the figure, where q1 = 6.00 x 109 C, q2 = -2.00 x
109 C, and q3 = 5.00 x 10-9 C. Find the magnitude and
direction of the resultant force on q3.

Answer
Because plastic, an insulator, does not easily conduct
charge

67

Why is an electrostatic spray gun more efficient than an

ordinary spray gun?
Answer
More paint hits the object being painted due to an
electrical attraction between the charged droplets and
the oppositely charged object.

68

The electron and proton of a hydrogen atom are separated

on average by a distance of about 5.3 x 10-11 m. Find the
magnitudes of the electric force and the gravitational force
that each particle exerts on the other.

Answer
7.16 x 10-9 N
q = 65.20

Answer
Felectric = -8.2 x 10-8 N
Fg = 3.6 x 10-49 N

72

Three charges are located on the x-axis. A 5.0 C charge is

located at x = 0. 0 cm, a 1. 5 C charge is located at x = 3.0
cm, and a -3.0 C charge is located at x = 5.0 cm. Find the
resultant force on the 5.0 C charge.

Answer
21 N, along the negative x-axis

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

The Superpositon Principal (Planar) (g)

73

Four charged particles are placed so that each particle is at

the corner of a square. The sides of the square are 15 cm.
The charge at the upper left corner is +3.0 C, the charge at
the upper right corner is -6.0 C, the charge at the lower
left corner is -2.4 C, and the charge at the lower right
corner is -9.0 C.
(a)
What is the net electric force on the +3.0 C charge?
(b)
What is the net electric force on the -6.0 C charge?
(c)
What is the net electric force on the -9.0 C charge?

77

How are conductors different from insulators?

Answer
Conductors transfer charge easily; insulators do not.

78

When a conductor is charged by induction, is the induced

surface charge on the conductor the same or opposite the
charge of the object inducing the surface charge?
Answer

Answer
(a) 13.0 N, 3 V below the positive x-axis
(b) 25 N, 780 above the negative x-axis
(c) 18 N, 750 below the positive x-axis

74

opposite

79

Three charges lie along the x-axis. One positive charge, q1 =

15 C, is at x= 2.0 m, and another positive charge, q2 = 6.0
C, is at the origin. At what point on the x-axis must a
negative charge, q3, be placed so that the resultant force on
it is zero?

A negatively charged balloon has 3.5 C of charge. How

many excess electrons are on this balloon?
Answer
2.2 x 1013 electrons

80

Which activity does not produce the same results as the

other three?
(a) sliding over a plastic-covered automobile seat
(b) walking across a woolen carpet
(c) scraping food from a metal bowl with a metal spoon
(d) brushing dry hair with a plastic comb

Answer
Answer

p = 0.80 m from q2.

81
75

An electron is released above the Earth's surface. A second

electron directly below it exerts just enough of an electric
force on the first electron to cancel the gravitational force
on it. Find the distance between the two electrons.

Answer
No; if a charged object induces a surface charge on
the suspended object, the two are attracted, but the
suspended object has no net charge.

Answer
5.07 m

76

A charge q1 of -6.00 x 10-9 C and a charge q2 of -3.00 x 10-9

C are separated by a distance of 60.0 cm. Where could a
third charge be placed so that the net electric force on it is
zero?

Answer
35.2 cm from q1
(24.8 cm from q2)

If a suspended object is attracted to another object that is

charged, can you conclude that the suspended object is
charged?

82

Explain from an atomic viewpoint why charge is usually

transferred by electrons.
Answer
Protons are relatively fixed in the nucleus, whereas
electrons can be transferred from one atom to another.

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Descriptive Electrostatics (a)

83

Because of a higher moisture content, air is a better

conductor of charge in the summer than in the winter.
Would you expect the shocks from static electricity to be
more severe in summer or winter? Explain your answer.

88

Three positive point charges of 3.0 nC, 6.0 nC, and 2.0 nC,
respectively, are arranged in a triangle, as shown in the
figure below. Find the magnitude and direction of the
electric force on the 6.0 nC charge.

Answer
winter, because more charge can accumulate before
electric discharge occurs

84

A balloon is negatively charged by rubbing and then clings

to a wall. Does this mean that the wall is positively
charged?
Answer

Answer

No; the balloon clings because its charge induces a

surface charge or the wall.

85

Which effect proves more conclusively that an object is

charged, attraction to or repulsion from another object?
Explain.

9.73 x 10-8 N
11.50 below the positive x-axis

89

Three point charges lie along the y-axis. A charge of q1 =

-9.0 C is at y = 6.0 m, and a charge of q2 = -8.0 C is at y=
-4.0 m. The net electric force on the third charge is zero.
Where is this charge located?

Answer
repulsion, because attraction can be the result of an
induced surface charge, but repulsion only occurs
when two objects each have a net charge

86

87

What determines the direction of the electric force between

two charges?

Answer
y = 0.8 m from the zero point or 5.1 from one end

90

Calculate the net charge on a substance consisting of a

combination of 7.0 x 1013 protons and 4.0 x 1013 electrons.

Answer

Answer

the signs of the charges

4.8 x 10-6 C

In which direction will the electric force from the two equal
positive charges pull the negative charge shown in the
figure below?

91

The moon (m = 7.36 x 1022 kg) is bound to Earth (m = 5.98

x 1024 kg) by gravity. The moon is 3.82 x 108 m from the
earth. If, instead, the force of attraction were the result of
each having a charge of the same magnitude but opposite in
sign, find the quantity of charge that would have to be
placed on each to produce the required force.
Answer
5.72 x 1013 C

Answer
to the left

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Common Vectors & Coulomb's Law (i)

92

Two small metallic spheres, each with a mass of 0.20 g, are

suspended as pendulums by light strings from a common
point. They are given the same electric charge, and the two
come to equilibrium when each string is at an angle of 5.00
with the vertical. If the string is 30.0 cm long, what is the
magnitude of the charge on each sphere?

96

Answer
7.17 x 10-9 C

93

Three identical point charges, each of mass m = 0.10 kg,

hang from three strings, as shown in the figure below. If L
= 30.0 cm. and = 450, what is the value of ?

Answer
(a) Picture
(b) 1.28 x 10-8 N
450 above the positive x-axis

97

94

In 1955, a water bore that was 2,231 m deep was drilled in

Montana. Consider two charges, q2 = 1.60 mC and q1,
separated by a distance equal to the depth of the well. If a
third charge, q3 1.998 mC is placed 888 m from q2 and is
between q2 and q1, this third charge will be in equilibrium.
What is the value of q1?

Answer

Answer

2.0 x 10-6 C

366 mC

A DNA molecule (deoxyribonucleic acid) is 2.17 mm long.

The ends of the molecule become singly ionized so that
there is an increase of 1.00 percent upon becoming charged.
Find the effective spring constant of the molecule.

98

Answer
2.25 x 10-9 N/m

95

In 1993, a chocolate chip cookie was baked in Arcadia,

California. It contained about three million chips and was
10.7 m long and 8.7 m wide. Suppose four charges are
placed in the corners of that cookie as follows: q1 = -12.0
nC at the lower left corner, q2 = 5.6 nC at the upper left
corner, q3 = 2.8 nC at the upper right corner, and q4 = 8.4
nC at the lower right corner.
(a) Draw a picture of the rectangular cooke
(b) Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant
electric force acting on q1.

In 1990, a French team flew a kite that was 1,034 m long.

Imagine two charges, +2.0 nC and -2.8 nC, at opposite ends
of the kite.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the electric force between
them. (
b) If the separation of charges is doubled, what absolute
value of equal and opposite charges would exert the same
electric force?

In more than 30 years, Albert Klein, of California, drove

2.5 x 106 km in one automobile. Consider two charges, q1 =
2.0 C and q2 = 6.0 C, separated by Klein's total driving
distance. A third charge, q3 = 4.0 C, is placed on the line
connecting q1 and q2. How far from q1 should q3 be placed
for q3 to be in equilibrium?
Answer
9.3 x 108 m

99

The most accurate balance can measure objects with masses

as small as 1.0 x 10-11 kg, which is less than the mass of the
ink in the period at the end of this sentence. Suppose a mass
this small is suspended by electric repulsion over a charge
of -4.0 nC. How many extra electrons must be placed on the
mass so that it will float 2.0 cm directly over the -4.0 nC
charge?

Answer
(a) 4.7 x 10-14 N
(b) 4.7 x 10-9 C

Answer
6.8 x 103 electrons

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Common Vectors & Coulomb's Law (i)

100 The CN Tower, in Toronto, Canada, is 553 m tall. Suppose

two balls, each with a mass of 5.00 kg and a charge of 40.0
mC, are placed at the top and bottom of the tower,
respectively. The ball at the top is then dropped. At what
height is the acceleration on the ball zero?
Answer

parasitic wasp Carapractus cinctus has a mass of 5.0 x

104 The
10-6 kg, which makes it one of the smallest insects in the
world. If two such wasps are given equal and opposite
charges with an absolute value of 2.0 x 10-15 C and are
placed 1.00 m from each other on a horizontal smooth
surface, what extra horizontal force must be applied to each
wasp to keep it from sliding? Take into account both
gravitational and electric forces between the wasps.

542
Answer
24

is about 6.0 x 10 kg, while the moon's mass

101 Earth's mass
is 7.3 x 1022 kg. What equal charges must be placed on
Earth and the moon to make the net force between them
zero?
Answer
5.7 x 1013 C

102 In 1995, a single diamond was sold for more than

16 million. It was not the largest diamond in the world, but
its mass was an impressive 20.0 g. Consider such a
diamond resting on a horizontal surface. It is known that if
the diamond is given a charge of 2.0 C and a charge of at
least -8.0 C is placed on that surface at a distance of 1.7 m
from it, then the diamond will barely keep from sliding.
Calculate the coefficient of static friction between the
diamond and the surface.

3.77 x 10-20 N

-9
105 A charge of +2.00 x 10 C-9is placed at theorigin, and
another charge of +4 x 10 C is placed at x = 1.5 m. find
the point between these two charges where a charge of
+3.00 x 10-9C should be paced so that the net electric force
on it is zero.

Answer
x = 0.64 m

Answer
0.25

106 What must be the distance between point charge q1 = 26.0

C and point charge q2 = -47 C for the electrostatic force
between them to have a magnitude of 5.70 N?
Answer

known. Its
103 Mycoplasma is the smallest living organism
mass has an estimated value of 1.0 x 10-16 g.
(a) If two specimens of this organism are placed 1.0 m
apart and one electron is placed on each, what is their initial
acceleration due to the electric force?
(b) If the medium through which the Allycoplasma move
exerts a resistive force on the organisms, how large must
that force be to balance the force of electrostatic repulsion?

Answer
(a) 2.3 x 10-9 m/s2
(b) 2.3 x 10-28 N

1.39 m

107 The figure shows four identical conducting spheres that are
actually well separated from one another. Sphere W (with
an initial charge of zero) is touched to sphere A and then
they are separated. Next, sphere W is touched to sphere B
(with an initial charge of -32e) and then they are separated.
Finally, sphere W is touched to sphere C (with an initial
charge of +48e), and then they are separated. The final
charge on sphere W is +18e. What was the initial charge on
sphere A?

Answer
(a) (0.829 N)i ;
(b) (-0.621 N)j

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Common Vectors & Coulomb's Law (i)

108 An electron is in a vacuum near Earth's surface and located

at y = 0 on a vertical y axis. At what value of y should a
second electron be placed such that its electrostatic force on
the first electron balances the gravitational force on the first
electron?
Answer

112 In the figure, a central particle of charge -2q is surrounded

by a square array of charged particles, separated by either
distance d or d/2 along the perimeter of the square. What
are the magnitude and direction of the net electrostatic force
on the central particle due to the other particles? (Hint:
Consideration of symmetry can greatly reduce the amount
of work required here.)

-5.1 m

109 How far apart must two protons be if the magnitude of the
electrostatic force acting on either one due to the other is
equal to the magnitude of the gravitational force on a proton
at Earth's surface?
Answer
11.9 cm

110 The figure shows four situations in which five charged

particles are evenly spaced along an axis. The charge values
are indicated except for the central particle, which has the
same charge in all four situations. Rank the situations
according to the magnitude of the net electrostatic force on
the central particle, greatest first.

Answer
6kq2/d2 , leftward

113 The figure shows four arrangements of charged particles.

Rank the arrangements according to the magnitude of the
net electrostatic force on the particle with charge +Q,
greatest first.

Answer
3, 1, 2, 4 (zero)

111 In the figure, a central particle of charge -q is surrounded by

two circular rings of charged particles. What are the
magnitude and direction of the net electrostatic force on the
central particle due to the other particles? (Hint:
Consideration of symmetry can greatly reduce the amount
of work required here.)

Answer
a and d tie, then b and c tie

114 A positively charged ball is brought close to an electrically

neutral isolated conductor. The conductor is then grounded
while the ball is kept close. Is the conductor charged
positively, charged negatively, or neutral if
(a) Is the conductor charged positively, charged negatively,
or neutral if the ball is first taken away and then the ground
connection is removed?
(b) Is the conductor charged positively, charged negatively,
or neutral if the ground connection is first removed and then
the ball is taken away?
Answer

Answer
2kq2/r2 , up the page

(a) neutral;
(b) negatively

Chapter 19: Electrostatic Forces

Assignment

Coulomb's Law and Universal Gravity (e)

-15
115 The nucleus in an iron atom has a radius of about 4.0 x 10
m and contains 26 protons.
(a) What is the magnitude of the repulsive electrostatic
force between two of the protons that are separated by 4.0 x
10-15 m?
(b) What is the magnitude of the gravitational force
between those same two protons?

Answer