What would happen to the electrostatics force between a pair of charged particles if both charges were douled and the distance between them were also doubled?
Correct answer: C. It would remain unchanged
- A. It would decrease by a factor of 4
- B. It would decrease by a factor of 2
- C. It would remain unchanged
- D. It would increase by a factor of 2
Explanation
The electrostatic force between two charged particles is determined by Coulomb's law:F = k * q1 * q2 / r2where F is the electrostatic force, k is Coulomb's constant, q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges, and r is the distance between them.If both charges are doubled, q'1 = 2q1 and q'2 = 2q2, and the distance is also doubled, r' = 2r, the new force F' is:F' = k * (2q1) * (2q2) / (2r)2F' = (4 * k * q1 * q2) / 4r2F' = k * q1 * q2 / r2Therefore, the electrostatic force remains unchanged. The correct option is C: It would remain unchanged. Options A, B, and D are incorrect as they do not consider the balance between the changes in charge and distance, leading to no net change in force.
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Electrostatics describes forces between charges through Coulomb's law, electric fields and field intensity, then uses electric potential to measure energy per unit charge. Capacitors store charge and electrical energy, with capacitance depending on geometry and dielectric material, not simply on the amount of charge present.
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