Physics 2049

Exam 1
Spring 2002

q2

r12

q1 r13 q3

1. In the figure q1 = 300C, q2 = 400C, q3 = 500C, r12 = 9m, r13 =

12m. Compute the magnitude of the total force on q3 .

F~3N ET = F~31 + F~32

kq3 q1 kq3 q2  i sin j

= 2
i + 2 2
cos
r13 r12 + r13
r12
with = arctan( ) = 36.87
r13
~
F3N ET = 15.8N i 4.8N j

q
|F~3N ET | = (15.8)2 + (4.8)2 N = 16.5N

1
 q

q q

2. Three identical charges q are placed at the corners of the equilateral

triangle of side length L. The fourth charge Q is placed in the center
of the triangle. Find the value of Q in terms of q that would put the
whole system of four charges in equilibrium.
Calculating the net force on the top q and setting it to zero to enforce
equilibrium we get,

k|qQ| 2kq 2
F~qN ET = 2 j + 2 sin(60 )j = 0
x L
where x is the distance between q and Q. In terms of L,

(L/2)
x= = L/ 3 (1)
cos(30 )

so that

3k|qQ| 3kq 2
=
L2 L2
or Q = q/ 3 (must have opposite sign for equilibrium)

2
3. An electron is placed in an electric field as shown. Find the direction
of the electrostatic force on the electron.

F = qE = eE

Since F and E are antiparallel the force is directed to the left, .

4. A particle of mass 1 mg, and charge 6C traveling with constant

velocity ~v0 = 10m/si enters a region with a constant electric field
~ = 1.2N/Cj. What is the speed 2 seconds after it enters the region
E
with the electric field?
The velocity of the charge only changes in the j direction,

F = qE = may ay = qE/m = 7.2m/s2

vy (t) = ay t vy (2s) = 14.4m/s
q
|~v (2s)| = (10)2 + (14.4)2 )m/s = 17.53m/s

5. A spherical nonconducting balloon has a positive charge distributed

uniformly over its surface. If the balloon is expanded (no extra charge
is added) the magnitude of the electric field inside the balloon , and
the magnitude of the electric field near the outer surface . If a point
P is outside the balloon before expansion, and inside after expansion,
the magnitude of the E field at that point .
Use Gausss law to get the electric field,

~ d~a = E(4r 2 ) = qin

I
E
S 0
kqin
E =
r2
Since all the charge is uniformly distributed on the surface of the bal-
loon, the electric field inside is zero. Therefore, the field after expansion
will remain zero. A point just outside the surface of the balloon the
electric field will decrease since the electric field drops off as 1/r 2 . It
should also be evident that since the electric field is positive outside
the balloon, any point that starts outside and ends inside where the
field is zero will experience a decrease.

3
 y

x=2cm x=12cm

6. A cube with sides of length 10 cm rests on the y = 0 plane, with one

edge along the line x = 2cm and another edge along x = 12cm, as
shown in the above figure. A nonuniform field (in N/C) pierces the the
cube and is described by:

E(x) = Axi

where A =7.0E+6 N/(Cm). How much charge (in C) is inside the

cube?
Electric field flux only occurs at the x = 2cm and x = 12cm faces which
we will call left and right, respectively. Gausss law tells us,

~ d~a = Q
I
E
S 
Z0 Z
= ~ d~a +
E ~ d~a
E
right lef t

The differential area elements on these surfaces are d~aright = dydzi and
d~alef t = dydzi.
   
2
L2
 
Q = 0 E(x) L E(x)
x=12cm x=2cm

where L is the side length. Therefore,

Q = 0 7000Nm2 /C = 6.2E 8C

4
7. The electric field at the surface of a sphere of radius R is measured.
It is found to be radially outward and to have the same magnitude all
over the sphere. Call that magnitude E1 . A second sphere of radius
2R is found to have a radially inward electric field that is uniform also
but with magnitue 4E1 . What is the ratio of the charge in the second
sphere to the charge in the first sphere (Q2 /Q1 )?
If we place Gaussian surfaces on the surfaces of both spheres they would
tell us the magnitudes of the electric field are,
k|Q1 | k|Q2 |
E1 = 2
, E2 =
R1 R22
E1 R22 |Q1 | 1 4|Q1 |
= 2
= =
E2 R1 |Q2 | 4 |Q2 |
Since the fields point in opposite directions, the signs of Q1 and Q2 are
opposite and we have
Q2
= 16
Q1

8. A clever physicist produces a very long, cylindrical distribution of elec-

trical charge. The diameter of the cyclindrical distribution is D. Inside
the volume charge density varies radially as,
 
2r
(r) = 0 1 D

For r > D/2, (r) = 0. Here r is the radial distance from the cylindrical
axis and 0 is a negative constant 0 < 0. Calculate the electric field
generated by rho for all r > D/2. That is, at any point outside of the
region containing the charge.
Again we use Gausss law, but this time for cylindrical symmetry,
I
~ d~a = E(2rL) = qin /0
E
S
Z Z 2 Z L Z D/2
qin = dV (V ) = d dz dr r(r)
0 0 0
D/2 2r
Z  
= 2L|0 | dr r 1
0 D

5
 D2 D2
!
= 2L|0 |
8 12
D2
= L|0 |
12
2
~ = | 0 |D
E inward
240 r
Now by the way of the 5 possible answers, only 2 had the electric field
directed inward, allowing you to eliminate 3 of the possible choices. Of
the remaining two, only the one derived above has the correct dimen-
sions of of an electric field. Therefore, one could have answered this
question without having to even know what an integral is!
9. The electric field in megaN/C at a point halfway between a point charge
of +2C at the origin and a point charge of -3C at x = +10 cm is:
Between the two charges, the electric field is pointed to the right and
the components add,
k|q1 | k|q2 |
E(x) = 2
+
x (0.1m x)2
k(2E-6C+ 3E-6C)
E(0.05m) = = 1.8E7 N/C = 18 megaN/C
(0.05m)2
10. An electric dipole is composed of equal and opposite charges each of
magnitude 0.1C, placed at y = 1 cm, respectively. The magnitude of
the electrostatic field due to this dipole (in N/C) at the point x = +3m
is:
The magnitude of the electric field along the z axis due to the two
charges along the y axis comes from adding the y components and
cancelling the z components to give,
2kq kqd
E(z) = 2 2
sin =
(d/2) + z ((d/2)2 + z 2 )3/2
d/2
where sin = , and d is the distance between the charges.
(d/2)2 +z 2
The dipole field comes from approximating the electric field for z  d,
so we can neglect the d/2 in the denominator and we are left with,
kqd (1E-7C)(0.02m)
E(z) = k = 0.67 N/C
z3 (3m)2