Question

An electric dipole is formed from ± 5.0 nc point charges spaced 2.0 mm apart. The dipole is centered at the origin and oriented along the y-axis. What is the magnitude of the electric dipole moment?

1) 10.0 nc
2) 5.0 nc
3) 2.5 nc
4) Cannot be determined without additional information

Answer 1

The magnitude of the electric dipole moment for the given configuration is 10.0 picocoulomb-meters (pC⋅m), which corresponds to option 1).

Step-by-step explanation:

The student asked for the magnitude of the electric dipole moment formed by a ± 5.0 nanocoulomb (nc) point charges spaced 2.0 millimeters apart, centered at the origin and oriented along the y-axis. To find the electric dipole moment, p, you multiply the magnitude of one of the charges (q) by the separation distance (d). In this case, the calculation would be p = q × d = 5.0 nc × 2.0 mm = 5.0 x 10-9 C × 2.0 x 10-3 m = 10.0 x 10-12 C⋅m, or 10.0 pC⋅m, which corresponds to option 1).