Question

Section: 9.3

Complete this statement: Coulomb's law states that the magnitude of the force of
interaction between two charged bodies is
A) directly proportional to the product of the charges on the bodies and directly
proportional to the distance separating them.
B) directly proportional to the product of the charges on the bodies, and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance separating them.
C) inversely proportional to the product of the charges on the bodies, and directly
proportional to the square of the distance separating them.
D) directly proportional to the sum of the charges on the bodies, and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance separating them.

Answer 1

Coulomb's law states that the force between two charged bodies is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The correct option is B.

Step-by-step explanation:

Coulomb's law states that the magnitude of the force of interaction between two charged bodies is B) directly proportional to the product of the charges on the bodies and inversely proportional to the square of the distance separating them.

This means that if we increase the charge on one of the bodies, the force between the two charges will increase. Conversely, if we increase the distance between the two charges, the force will decrease rapidly because it is proportional to the inverse of the distance squared.

For example, if the charge on one body is doubled, the force between the two bodies doubles as well. If the distance between the two bodies is doubled, the force decreases by a factor of 4 (2 squared).

The accurate mathematical equation derived from Coulomb's law is represented as F = kq1q2/r2, where F is the force between two charges, q1 and q2 are the charges, r is the distance between the charges, and k is Coulomb's constant.