Coulomb\'s Law Force Relationships

  • Grade 10th
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1. What happens to the electric force if you double the charge of one object, quadruple the charge of the other, AND cut the original distance to 1/2 of the original? The force should ____

Explanation

According to Coulomb's law, the electric force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. If one charge is doubled and the other is quadrupled, the product of the charges increases by a factor of 8 (2 x 4). Additionally, reducing the distance to half increases the force by a factor of 4 (1/(1/2)^2). Multiplying these factors (8 x 4) results in an increase of the electric force by a factor of 32.

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About This Quiz
Coulomb\s Law Force Relationships - Quiz

This assessment focuses on Coulomb's Law and its application in calculating electric force between charged objects. It evaluates your understanding of how changes in charge and distance affect electric force. Understanding these relationships is crucial for physics learners, as it lays the foundation for electrostatics and related concepts.

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2. When you TRIPLE the charge of one object and keep the other object the same, the distance also stays the same. The force between the objects should ____

Explanation

According to Coulomb's Law, the electrostatic force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. When you triple the charge of one object while keeping the other charge and the distance constant, the force increases proportionally to the increase in charge. Therefore, tripling one charge results in the force also increasing by a factor of 3, as the distance remains unchanged.

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3. What happens to the electric force if you half the charge of one object, keep the other charge the same, AND double the distance between them?

Explanation

According to Coulomb's law, the electric force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. If one charge is halved, the force decreases by a factor of 2. Doubling the distance increases the denominator in the equation, reducing the force by a factor of 4 (since \(2^2 = 4\)). Combining these effects results in a total decrease of \(2 \times 4 = 8\), leading to an overall reduction of the electric force by a factor of 8.

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4. If you FIFTH the charge of one object and keep the other object the same, while keeping the distance the same, the force between the objects should decrease by a factor of 5.

Explanation

When you reduce the charge of one object to one-fifth of its original value while keeping the other object's charge and the distance between them constant, the electrostatic force between the two objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges. According to Coulomb's Law, if one charge decreases by a factor of 5, the overall force also decreases by the same factor, resulting in a reduced force that is one-fifth of the original force. Therefore, the statement is true.

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5. What happens to the electric force if you triple the charge of one object, triple the charge of the other, AND cut the original distance to 1/3 of the original? The force should ____

Explanation

According to Coulomb's law, the electric force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. If both charges are tripled, the force increases by a factor of 3 × 3 = 9. Reducing the distance to one-third increases the force by a factor of (1/(1/3)²) = 9. Therefore, the total increase in force is 9 × 9 = 81, resulting in an overall increase by a factor of 81.

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6. When you EIGHTH the charge of one object and keep the other object the same, with distance unchanged, the force between the objects should decrease by a factor of ____

Explanation

According to Coulomb's law, the electrostatic force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. If you reduce the charge of one object to one-eighth, the force will decrease by the same factor because the distance remains unchanged. Therefore, the force between the objects decreases by a factor of 8, reflecting the change in charge.

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7. What happens to the electric force if you quadruple the charge of one object, keep the other charge the same, AND triple the distance between them?

Explanation

According to Coulomb's Law, the electric force \( F \) between two charges is given by \( F = k \frac{q_1 q_2}{r^2} \), where \( k \) is a constant, \( q_1 \) and \( q_2 \) are the magnitudes of the charges, and \( r \) is the distance between them. If you quadruple one charge (increase by a factor of 4) and triple the distance (increase by a factor of 3), the new force becomes \( F' = k \frac{4q_1 q_2}{(3r)^2} = k \frac{4q_1 q_2}{9r^2} \). Thus, the force increases by a factor of \( \frac{4}{9} \).

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8. If you double the charge of one object, keep the other the same, AND cut the distance to 1/4 of the original, the force will increase by a factor of ____

Explanation

According to Coulomb's law, the electrostatic force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. If you double one charge, it becomes 2q, and if you reduce the distance to 1/4, the new distance squared becomes (1/4)² = 1/16. Thus, the force increases by a factor of (2 * 1)/(1/16) = 32. Therefore, the overall force increases by a factor of 32.

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What happens to the electric force if you double the charge of one...
When you TRIPLE the charge of one object and keep the other object the...
What happens to the electric force if you half the charge of one...
If you FIFTH the charge of one object and keep the other object the...
What happens to the electric force if you triple the charge of one...
When you EIGHTH the charge of one object and keep the other object the...
What happens to the electric force if you quadruple the charge of one...
If you double the charge of one object, keep the other the same, AND...
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