GENERAL PHYSICS 2

PRAYER
ONLINE CLASS REMINDERS
REVIEW
Define static electricity

Explain the three mechanisms of

electrical charging
 COULOMB’S LAW

CALCULATING THE ELECTRIC FORCE

LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES

State Coulomb’s Law

Calculate electric force

 CHARLES COULOMB
(1736 – 1806)

 French physicist
 Major contributions
were in areas of
electrostatics and
magnetism
ELECTRIC FORCE
The force (repulsive or
attractive) between
charged objects.

The magnitude of the electric force depends

on 2 factors:
1. The DISTANCE between charges (the
farther the distance, the less the force)
2. The amount of CHARGE (the greater the
charge, the greater the force)
COULOMB’S LAW,
STATEMENT
The electric (electrostatic) force of
attraction or repulsion between two
point charges is
*directly proportional to the product of
charges. And
* inversely proportional to the square
of distance between them.
 COULOMB’S LAW,
EQUATION

Electric Force
SI Unit:
Newton (N) e

SI Unit: Coulomb (C)

- SI Unit: Meter (m)

COULOMB’S LAW,
EQUATION
e

e
PARTICLE SUMMARY

 The electron and proton are identical in the

magnitude of their charge, but very different in mass.
 The proton and the neutron are similar in mass, but
very different in charge.
Coulomb’s Law
Recall from Newton’s law of gravitation that the gravitational
force between two objects of mass m1 and mass m2 is
proportional to the product of the masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance d between them:
Coulomb’s Law
think!
What is the chief significance of the fact that G in
Newton’s law of gravitation is a small number and k in
Coulomb’s law is a large number when both are
expressed in SI units?
Coulomb’s Law
think!
What is the chief significance of the fact that G in
Newton’s law of gravitation is a small number and k in
Coulomb’s law is a large number when both are
expressed in SI units?

Answer:
The small value of G indicates that gravity is a weak
force; the large value of k indicates that the electrical
force is enormous in comparison.
Coulomb’s Law
Newton’s law of gravitation for masses is similar to Coulomb’s law for
electric charges.
Whereas the gravitational force of attraction between a pair of one-
kilogram masses is extremely small, the electrical force between a pair of
one-coulomb charges is extremely large.
The greatest difference between gravitation and electrical forces is that
gravity only attracts but electrical forces may attract or repel.
COULOMB’S LAW
**See PhET Simulation:
Coulomb’s Law
COULOMB’S LAW,
PROBLEM-SOLVING
COULOMB’S LAW,
PROBLEM-SOLVING

1. Calculate the force between

charges of 5.0 x 108 C and 1.0 x 107
C if they are 5.0 cm apart.
COULOMB’S LAW,
PROBLEM-SOLVING

2. Two equal charges of magnitude 1.1 x

107 C experience an electrostatic force
of 4.2 x 104 N. How far apart are the
centers of the two charges?
COULOMB’S LAW,
PROBLEM-SOLVING

3. What is the magnitude of the force a

1.5 x 106 C charge exerts on a 3.2 x
104 C charge located 1500 mm away?
COULOMB’S LAW,
PROBLEM-SOLVING

4. How far apart must two electrons be

if the force between them is
1.0 x 10-12 N?
Coulomb’s Law
think!
a. If an electron at a certain distance from a charged
particle is attracted with a certain force, how will the
force compare at twice this distance?
Coulomb’s Law
think!
a. If an electron at a certain distance from a charged
particle is attracted with a certain force, how will the
force compare at twice this distance?

Answer:
a. In accord with the inverse-square law, at twice the
distance the force will be one fourth as much.
Coulomb’s Law
think!
a. If an electron at a certain distance from a charged
particle is attracted with a certain force, how will the
force compare at twice this distance?
b. Is the charged particle in this case positive or
negative?

Answer:
a. In accord with the inverse-square law, at twice the
distance the force will be one fourth as much.
Coulomb’s Law
think!
a. If an electron at a certain distance from a charged
particle is attracted with a certain force, how will the
force compare at twice this distance?
b. Is the charged particle in this case positive or
negative?

Answer:
a. In accord with the inverse-square law, at twice the
distance the force will be one fourth as much.
b. Since there is a force of attraction, the charges must
be opposite in sign, so the charged particle is positive.
COULOMB’S LAW,
PRACTICE EXERCISES
COULOMB’S LAW,
PRACTICE EXERCISES

1) Two particles have charges equal to -35.0

μC and +50.0 C, and are separated by a
distance of 30.0 mm. What is the magnitude
of the force between the particles, and is the
force attractive or repulsive?
COULOMB’S LAW,
PRACTICE EXERCISES

2) Two negative charges that are

both –5.0x10-5 C push each other
apart with a force of 15 N. How far
apart are the two charges?
COULOMB’S LAW,
PRACTICE EXERCISES

3) A negative charge of -0.0005 C

exerts an attractive force of 9.0 N on
a second charge that is 10 m away.
What is the magnitude of the
second charge?
COULOMB’S LAW,
PRACTICE EXERCISES

4) Two protons experience an

electrostatic force of 4.2 x 104 N.
How far apart are the charges?
COULOMB’S LAW,
PRACTICE EXERCISES

5) Two particles have charges q1 and

q2, and q2 = 790 nC. The distance
between the particles is 27 cm, and
the attractive force between them is
0.2 N. What is q1 (including sign)?
GENERALIZATION

State Coulomb’s Law

Calculate electric force

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APPLICATION
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VALUES

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