Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite

Edward F. Redish

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Forces among three charges: 2

In the figure at the right are shown three charges along a line. The distance between charge 2 and 3 is twice the distance between charges 1 and 2. The magnitude of the force between 1 and 2 is F0. What are the magnitudes of the forces in the items below? Complete each sentence with an expression that is a multiple of F0.

A. If all three charges are equal and positive, then the force between 2 and 3 has magnitude ____

B. The magnitude of the net force on charge 2 is ____

C. The magnitude of the net force on charge 1 is ____

D. If the distance between charges 2 and 3 is halved, the magnitude of the net force on charge 2 becomes ____

E. Starting from the configuration in D, if now the charge on 3 is doubled, the magnitude of the net force on charge 2 becomes ____


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