Chapter 21, Problem 90A

To determine

To Rank:The charges according to the force experienced in the electric field.

Explanation of Solution

Given:

Charges and electric field.

  $\begin{array}{l}\text{3 nC in 70 N/C}\\ \text{5 nC in 600 N/C}\\ \text{3 nC in 20 N/C}\\ \text{6 nC in 35 N/C}\\ \text{8 nC in 10 N/C}\end{array}$

Formula Used:

The force experienced by a charged particle in an electric field is given by

  $F=qE$

q is the charge

E is the electric field.

Calculation:

  $F=qE$

  $\begin{array}{l}{\text{F}}_{\text{A}}\text{=}\left(\text{3 nC}\right)\left(\text{70 N/C}\right)\text{=210 N}\\ {\text{F}}_{\text{B}}\text{=}\left(\text{5 nC}\right)\left(\text{600 N/C}\right)\text{=3000 N}\\ {\text{F}}_{\text{C}}\text{=}\left(\text{3 nC}\right)\left(\text{20 N/C}\right)\text{=60 N}\\ {\text{F}}_{\text{D}}\text{=}\left(\text{6 nC}\right)\left(\text{35 N/C}\right)\text{=210 N}\\ {\text{F}}_{\text{E}}\text{=}\left(\text{8 nC}\right)\left(\text{10 N/C}\right)\text{=80 N}\end{array}$

Conclusion:

The ranking according to the magnitude of the force experienced from greatest to least is:

(B), (A), (D), (E),(C)