Question

The magnitude of the electrostatic force between two identical ions that are separated by a distance of 5.0A is 3.7×10^-9N.a) what is the charge of each ion?b) how many electrons are missing from each ion( thus giving the ion its charge imbalance)?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Given that,

Electrostatic force, $F=3.7\times 10^{-9}\ N$

Distance, $r=5\ A=5\times 10^{-10}\ m$

(a) $F=\dfrac{kq^2}{r^2}$, q is the charge on the ion              

$q=\sqrt{\dfrac{Fr^2}{k}}$

$q=\sqrt{\dfrac{3.7\times 10^{-9}\times (5\times 10^{-10})^2}{9\times 10^9}}$      

$q=3.2\times 10^{-19}\ C$

(b) Let n is the number of electrons are missing from each ion. It can be calculated as :

$n=\dfrac{q}{e}$

$n=\dfrac{3.2\times 10^{-19}}{1.6\times 10^{-19}}$

n = 2

Hence, this is the required solution.