ELECTRIC CHARGE

Electric Charge and Coulomb’s Law Example 1

Two charges are separated by a distance r and have

Fundamental Charge: The charge on one
a force F on each other.
electron.
q1q2
e = 1.6 x 10 -19
C F k
r2
Unit of charge is a Coulomb (C)

Two types of charge:

Positive Charge: A shortage of electrons.

Negative Charge: An excess of electrons.

Conservation of charge – The net charge of a closed q1q2 1

system remains constant. F k 
( 2r ) 2 4
(2q1 )q2
F k 2
r2
(2q1 )( 2q2 ) 4 4
F k   4   16
1 1 1
( r)2
2 4

Example 2

Two 40 gram masses each with a charge of 3μC are

placed 50cm apart. Compare the gravitational force
between the two masses to the electric force
Coulomb’s Law states that the force of attraction or between the two masses. (Ignore the force of the
repulsion between two small charges bodies is earth on the two masses)
directly proportional to the product of two charges
and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them
q1q2
F k
r2 m1m2
Coulomb’s Law – Gives the electric force between Fg  G
r2
two point charges. qq
F k 1 2 (.04)(.04)
2  6.67 x10 11  4.27 x10 13 N
r (0.5)
k = Coulomb’s Constant = 9.0x109 Nm2/C2
q1 = charge on mass 1 q1q2 The electric force is much greater
q2 = charge on mass 2 FE  k
r = the distance between the two charges
r 2 than the gravitational force
6 6
The electric force is much stronger than the 9 (3 x10 )(3 x10 )
gravitational force.  9.0 x10  0.324 N
(0.5) 2
 Example:

Calculate the strength and direction of the electric

field E due to a point charge of 2.00nC at a distance
of 5.00mm from the charge. What force does the
electric field exert on a point charge of -0. 250μC

SOL’N.

Q = 2.00nC = 2x10-9C

r = 5.00mm = 0.005m

a.) E = ?
b.) F = ?
ELECTRIC FIELD

- A region around a charged object within which a 𝑄

a.) E = k
force would be exerted on other charged objects 𝑟2
- A region of space where a charged object 2 2𝑥10−9 𝐶
9 𝑁𝑚
experiences a force due to its charge E = 9x10 ((0.005𝑚)2 )
𝐶2
𝑁 𝑁
E = 720,000 𝑜𝑟 7.2𝑥105
𝐶 𝐶

𝐹
b.) E =
𝑞

F = Eq
𝑁
F = 7.2x105 (−0.5𝑥10−6 𝐶)
𝐶

F = -0.018N – attractive towards each other

SEATWORK
What is the electric field intensity at a point 2.4 m
from a point charge of 5.7 m C in air?

NOTE:
 If 2 charge are identical, the force is
REPULSIVE.
 If one change’s (+) & the other one is (-), the
force is ATTRACTIVE.
 Negative Force, ATTRACTIVE
 Positive Force, REPULSIVE
SEAT WORK: 3. What is the electric intensity & direction
at a point 2.4m from a point charge of
1. The force between two identical charges 5.7mC in air?
separated by 1cm is equal to 90N. What
is the magnitude & direction of the two SOL’N:
charges?
𝑄
GIVEN: E=k
F = 90N 𝑟2
2 −6
9 𝑁𝑚 5.7𝑥10 𝑚𝐶
r = 1cm E = 9x10 𝐶2 (2.4𝑚)2
q1 = change of 1st body 𝑁
q2 = change of 2nd body E = 8906 𝐶 the change is repulsive forces

SOL’N:
4. Find the electric field intensity &
2
q1q2 Fr direction at a distance of 10.0cm from a
F k q point charge of 250pC in a vacuum.
r2 k
 
 
90 N 0.01m 2 SOL’N:
q2  
 9 Nm
2

 9 x10  𝑄
 C2  E=k
𝑟2
q  1x10 12 𝟐 −12 𝑝𝐶
9 𝑵𝒎 250𝑥10
q  1x10 12
C 2 E= 9x10 𝑪𝟐 (0.1𝑚)2
2. A positive charge q exerts a force of 𝑁
magnitude -0.20N on another charge -2q. E = 225 𝐶
Find the magnitude of each charge if the
distance separating them is equal to
50cm.
SOL’N:
(q1 )( 2q )
F k
r2
0.2(0.5) 2
q2 
2(9 x10 9 )
0.2(0.5) 2
q
2(9 x10) 9
q  1.66 x10 6 C
q2  (1.66 x10 6 )( 2)  3.32 x10 6 C
Electric Force

𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹=k
𝑟2

Gravitational Force
𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹=G
𝑟2

F = force of attraction, N

k = Coulomb’s constant

𝑵𝒎 𝟐
= 𝟖. 𝟗𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝟐 ~ 𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟗
𝑪

q1 &q2 = charged bodies

r = distance between changed bodies

µ = micro = 1x10-6

n = nano = 1x10-9
G = Giga = 1x10-9

R = 5mm = 0.005m

m1 = 40g m2 = 40g

q1 = 3x10-6C q2 = 3x10-6C

r = 50cm = 0.5m

FG = ? FE = ?

FG = 4.27x10-13N & FE = 0.324N