FDE 2020-I Homework 1 March 10, 2020

Deadline: March 12, 2020

Problem 1
Two small plastic spheres are given positive electric charges. When they are 15.0 cm apart,
the repulsive force between them has magnitude 0.220 N. What is the charge on each sphere
(a) if the two charges are equal and (b) if one sphere has four times the charge of the other?

Problem 2
Three point charges are arranged on a line. Charge q3 = +5.00 nC and is at the origin.
Charge q2 = -3.00 nC and is at x = +4.00 cm. Charge q1 is at x = +2.00 cm. What is q1
(magnitude and sign) if the net force on q3 is zero?

Problem 3
A +8.75 µC point charge is glued down on a horizontal frictionless table. It is tied to a
-6.50 µC point charge by a light, nonconducting 2.50 cm wire. A uniform electric field of
magnitude 1.85 ×108 N/C is directed parallel to the wire, as shown in Fig. 1. (a) Find the
tension in the wire. (b) What would the tension be if both charges were negative?

Figure 1: Problem 3

Problem 4
Point charges q1 = +12 nC and q2 = -12 nC are 0.100 m apart (Fig. 2). (Such pairs of point
charges with equal magnitude and opposite sign are called electric dipoles.) Compute the

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FDE 2020-I Homework 1 March 10, 2020

electric field caused by q1 , the field caused by q2 , and the total field (a) at point a; (b) at
point b; and (c) at point c.

Figure 2: Problem 4

Problem 5
A charge of -3.00 nC is placed at the origin of an xy-coordinate system, and a charge of 2.00
nC is placed on the y-axis at y = 4.00 cm. (a) If a third charge, of 5.00 nC, is now placed at
the point x = 3.00 cm, y = 4.00cm, find the x- and y-components of the total force exerted
on this charge by the other two charges. (b) Find the magnitude and direction of this force.