Question

Grain is pouring into a silo to be stored for later use. Due to the friction between pieces of grain as they rub against each other during the pouring process, one piece of grain picks up a charge of 6.0 E -10 C and another piece of grain picks up a charge of 2.3 E -15 C. What is the electric force between them if the pieces of grain are 2 cm apart?
Remember to identify all data (givens and unknowns), list equations used, show all your work, and include units and the proper number of significant digits to receive full credit.

Answer 1

Answer:

The electric force between them if the pieces of grain are 2 cm apart is $3.15\times 10^{-11}\textrm{ N}$.

Explanation:

Given:

Charge on one grain, $Q_{1}=6\times 10^{-10}\textrm{ C}$

Charge on another grain, $Q_{2}=2.3\times 10^{-15}\textrm{ C}$

Separation between them, $d=2\textrm{ cm}=0.02\textrm{ m}$

Electric force acting between two charges $Q_{1}\textrm{ and }Q_{2}$ separated by a distance $d$ is given as:

$F_{elec}=\frac{kQ_{1}Q_{2}}{d^2}$

Where, $k$ is Coulomb's constant equal to $9\times 10^9\textrm{ }Nm^2/C^2$.

Now, plug in all the values and solve for $F{elec}$.

$F{elec}=\frac{9\times 10^9\times 6.0\times 10^{-10}\times 2.3\times 10^{-15}}{(0.02)^2}\\\\F_{elec}=3.15\times 10^{-11}\textrm{ N}$

Therefore, the electric force between them if the pieces of grain are 2 cm apart is $3.15\times 10^{-11}\textrm{ N}$.