OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE

5031 Gen. T. de Leon Valenzuela, 1442 Metro Manila

GENERAL PHYSICS 2
MIDTERM
Learner’s Activity Module

NAME:___________________________________________________________________
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Lesson 2: Coulomb’s Law

II. LESSON OBJECTIVES:

Lesson Standard:
The learner demonstrates understanding of:

 Coulomb’s Law

Learning Competencies:

 Calculate the net electric force on a point charge

 Apply coulomb’s law to a certain sample problem.
 Describe an electric field as a region in which an
electric charge experiences a force

III. LESSON PROPER:

We know that charged objects/particles apply electric force with each other (Repulsion and Attraction).
Coulomb’s law provides us a quantitative approach in identifying the magnitude of the electric forces
between the charged objects/particles.
COULOMB’S LAW
states that the electrical force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the
product of the quantity of charge on the objects and inversely proportional to the square
of the separation distance between the two objects.
it gives the force(F) of attraction or repulsion of two point of charges ( q1 and q2 ) which are
separated by a distance r as :

K = 8.9875 x
109 N .m2 /C2 ( 8.99 x 109 N .
m 2 /C2 )

The magnitude calculated here is the force each charge exerts to each other. In order to identify
the direction of this force, it is important we take a look at the signs of the charges.

The K electrostatic constant is often written as

2
1 9 Nm
K=
4 π ϵ 0 =8.99x
10
C2

ϵ 0 is called the permittivity constant which sometimes appears separately in equations as 8.85 x
9N m2
10
C2

Example Problem:
The force between two identical charges separated by 1 cm is equal to 90 N. What is the
magnitude of the two charges?
Solution:
First, draw a force diagram of the problem.
Define the variables:
F = 90 N
q1 = charge of first body
q2 = charge of second body
r = 1 cm
Use the Coulomb’s Law equation

The problem says the two charges are identical, so

q1 = q2 = q
Substitute this into the equation

Since we want the charges, solve the equation for q

Enter the values of the problem for each variable into this equation. Remember to convert 1 cm
to 0.01 meters to keep the units consistent.

q = ±1.00×10-6 Coulombs
This equation has two possible answers. The charges can both be positive or both negative and
the answer will be the same for the repulsive Coulomb force over a distance of 1 cm.
Answer:
Two identical charges of ±1.00×10-6 Coulombs separated by 1 cm produce a repulsive force of
90 N.
Remember: The direction of the force depends on the positive or negative charges on the
bodies. If the two charges are identical, the force is a repulsive force. If one is positive and the
other negative, the force is an attractive force.

Two neutrally charged bodies are separated by 1 cm. Electrons are removed from one body and
placed on the second body until a force of 1×10-6 N is generated between them. How many
electrons were transferred between the bodies?
Define the variables:
F = coulomb force = 1×10-6 N
q1 = charge on first body
q2 = charge on second body
e = charge of a single electron = 1.60×10-19 C
k = 8.99×109 N·m2/C2
r = distance between two bodies = 1 cm = 0.01 m
Start with Coulomb’s Law equation.

As an electron is transferred from body 1 to body 2, body 1 becomes positive and body two
becomes negative by the charge of one electron. Once the final desired force is reached, n
electrons have been transferred.
q1 = +ne
q2 = -ne

The signs of the charges give the direction of the force, we are more interested in the magnitude
of the force. The magnitude of the charges are identical, so we can ignore the negative sign on q2.
Since the charges are opposite, the direction of the force is an attractive force. The magnitude of
the force equation above can be simplified to:

We want the number of electrons, so solve this equation for n.

Now we can enter the values from the problem into the formula. Remember to use 0.01 m for the
1 cm r value to keep the units consistent.

After crunching the numbers with your calculator, you should get a value of
n = 6.59×108
Answer:
It takes a transfer of 6.59×108 electrons to produce an attractive force of 1×10-6 Newtons.

ACTIVITY: Answer the following questions carefully follow GRESA format. (10 Points each )

1. A point charge of +3.00 x10^-6 C is 12.0cm far from a second point of charge of -1.50 x
10^-6 C. Calculate the magnitude of the force on each charge.
2. What must be the distance point of charge q1=26.0µC and point charge q2= -47.0 µC for
the electrostatic force between them to have a magnitude of 5.70N?
3. What is the repulsive force between two protons in a nucleus that are 5.0 X10 ^-5 apart
from each other?