course Phy 201

w}vnJЇWassignment #003

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003.

Physics II

07-20-2007

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16:15:00

In your own words explain the meaning of the electric field.

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RESPONSE -->

An electric field surrounds every charged partical and exerts a force on nearby charges

confidence assessment: 1

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16:16:02

STUDENT RESPONSE AND INSTRUCTOR COMMENT: electric field is the concentration of the electrical force

** That's a pretty good way to put it. Very specifically electric field measures the magnitude and direction of the electrical force, per unit of charge, that would be experienced by a charge placed at a given point. **

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RESPONSE -->

ok

self critique assessment: 3

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17:23:27

Query Principles of Physics and General Physics problem 16.15 charges 6 microC on diagonal corners, -6 microC on other diagonal corners of 1 m square; force on each.

What is the magnitude and direction of the force on the positive charge at the lower left-hand corner?

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RESPONSE -->

E = k (Q/r^2) = 5.4 *10^9

5.4 *10^9 *2 = 1.08 *10^10

Direction: 45 degrees

confidence assessment: 1

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17:43:41

** The charges which lie 1 meter apart are unlike and therefore exert attractive forces; these forces are each .324 Newtons. This is calculated using Coulomb's Law: F = 9 * 10^9 N m^2/C^2 * ( 6 * 10^-6 C) * ( 6 * 10^-6 C) / ( 1 m)^2 = 324 * 10^-3 N = .324 N.

Charges across a diagonal are like and separated by `sqrt(2) meters = 1.414 meters, approx, and exert repulsive forces of .162 Newtons. This repulsive force is calculated using Coulomb's Law: F = 9 * 10^9 N m^2/C^2 * ( 6 * 10^-6 C) * ( 6* 10^-6 C) / ( 1.414 m)^2 = 162 * 10^-3 N = .162 N.

The charge at the lower left-hand corner therefore experiences a force of .324 Newtons to the right, a force of .324 Newtons straight upward and a force of .162 Newtons at 45 deg down and to the left (at angle 225 deg with respect to the standard positive x axis, which we take as directed toward the right).

This latter force has components Fy = .162 N sin(225 deg) = -.115 N, approx, and Fx = .162 N cos(225 deg) = -.115 N.

The total force in the x direction is therefore -.115 N + .324 N = .21 N, approx; the total force in the y direction is -.115 N + .324 N = .21 N, approx.

Thus the net force has magnitude `sqrt( (.21 N)^2 + (.21 N)^2) = .29 N at an angle of tan^-1( .21 N / .21 N) = tan^-1(1) = 45 deg.

The magnitude and direction of the force on the negative charge at the lower right-hand corner is obtained by a similar analysis, which would show that this charge experiences forces of .324 N to the left, .324 N straight up, and .162 N down and to the right. The net force is found by standard vector methods to be about .29 N up and to the left. **

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RESPONSE -->

I am so confused because I thought the 6. mC charge = 6 *10^-3. I don't know where 6*10^6 came from. And the distance is 0.1 m, not 1 m. AND I thought you were supposed to add the Q/r^s like this: k((Q1/R1^2) + (Q2/R2^2)). But you multiplied. What am I missing??

Also, I forgot to take the repulsive force into account.

self critique assessment: 2

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The solution given here used microCoulombs. According to your note the text had milli-coulombs. Assuming this is so, it's easy to correct my given solution by using 10^-3 where I use 10^-6, and to make a similar correction if my distances were incorrect. These modifications will affect only the orders of magnitude of the solutions.

However you do have to take into account the vector components of the forces.