Question

What is the potential energy of two charges of +4.6 μC and +1.0 μC that are separated by a distance of 10.0 cm?

Answer 1

Answer:

U = 0.413 J

Explanation:

the potential energy between two charges q1 and q2 is given by the following formula:

$U=k\frac{q_1q_2}{r}$    (1)

k: Coulomb's constant = 8.98*10^9 NM^2/C^2

q1: first charge = 4.6 μC = 4.6*10^-6 C

q2: second charge = 1.0 μC*10^-6 C

r: distance between charges = 10.0 cm = 0.10 m

You replace the values of all variables in the equation (1):

$U=(8.98*10^9Nm^2/C^2)\frac{(4.6*10^{-6}C)(1.0*10^{-6}C)}{0.10m}=0.413\ J$

Hence, the energy between charges is 0.413 J