PHY023 Problem Set 2

1. Two small plastic spheres are given positive electrical charges. When they are 14.0 cm apart, the repulsive force
between them has a magnitude of 0.280 N. What is the charge in each sphere if one sphere has four times the charge
of the other?
2. A particle has a charge -4.00 nC. At what distance from this particle does the electric field have a magnitude of 16.0 N/C?
3. Point charge q1 = -2.00 nC is at the origin and point charge q2 = +3.00 nC is on the x-axis at x = 3.00 cm. Point P is on the
y-axis at y = 4.00cm. Find the electric field vector at point P by calculating the electric fields E1 and E2 at point P due to
the charges q and q2, respectively.
4. A straight non-conducting plastic wire 8.00 cm long carries a charge density of +180 nC/m distributed uniformly along
its length. It is lying on a horizontal tabletop.
a. Find the magnitude and direction of the electric field this wire produces at a point 4.00 cm directly above its
midpoint.
b. If the wire is now bent into a circle lying flat on the table, find the magnitude and direction of the electric field it
produces at a point 4.00 cm directly above its center.
5. You measure an electric field of 1.25 106 N/C at
a distance of 0.250 m from a point charge. What
is the electric flux through a sphere at that
distance from the charge? What is the magnitude
of the charge?
6. Three small spheres shown in the figure carry
charges q1 = 2.50 nC, q2 = 7.50 nC and q3 = 3.00
nC. Find the electric flux through each of the
closed surfaces shown as cross section.
7.
a. At a distance 0.200 cm from the center of a charged conducting sphere with radius 0.100 cm, the electric field is
250 N/C. What is the electric field 0.300 cm from the center of the sphere?
b. At a distance 0.200 cm from the axis of a very long charged conducting cylinder with radius 0.100 cm, the electric
field is 250 N/C. What is the electric field 0.300 cm from the axis of the cylinder?
c. At a distance 0.200 cm from a large uniform sheet of charge, the electric field is 250 N/C. What is the electric field
1.00 cm from the sheet?
8. Two point charges q1 = +2.5 nC and q2 = 5.0 nC are 0.100 m apart. Point A is
midway between them; point B is 0.080 m from q1 and 0.060 m from q2 as shown.
Take the electric potential to be zero at infinity. Find the potential at point A, the
potential at point B, and the work done by the electric field on a charge of 2.0 nC
that travels from point B to point A.
9. How much charge must be placed on a copper sphere 15.0 cm in diameter so that the potential of its center, relative to
infinity, is 1.50 kV?
10. A very long insulating cylindrical shell of radius 5.00 cm carries charge of linear density 7.5 C spread uniformly over its
outer surface. What would a voltmeter read if it were connected between the surface and a point 5.00 cm above the
surface?
11. Two large, parallel conducting plates carrying opposite charges of equal magnitude are separated by 2.50 cm.
a. If the surface charge density for each plate has magnitude of 50.0 nC/m2, what is the magnitude of the electric field
in the region between the plates?
b. What is the potential difference between the two plates?
12. The electric potential V in a region of space is given by V (x, y, z) = A (x2 3y2 + 2z2), where A is a constant. Derive an
expression for the electric field at any point in this region.