Question

Suppose the electric field in problems 2 was caused by a point charge. The test charge is moved to a distance twice as far from the charge. What is the magnitude of the force that the field exerts on the test charge now ?

Answer 1

Answer:

it is reduced four times.

Explanation:

By definition, the electric field is the force per unit charge created by a charge distribution.

If the charge creating the field is a point charge, the force exerted by it on a test charge, must obey Coulomb´s Law, so, it must be inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges.

So, if the distance increases twice, as the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, and the square of 2 is 4, this means that the magnitude of the force exerted on the test charge must be 4 times smaller.