Coulomb’s Law

Click here to access the lab simulation

Objectives:
 Satisfy Coulomb’s law experimentally
 Study the parameters that affect the electric force, such as distance and charge
 Measure the electric constant k

Theoretical Background:

Coulomb’s Law: “The magnitude of the electric force that a particle exerts on another is
directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between them.” Mathematically, the magnitude of this electrostatic force F E
acting on two charged particles (q1, q2) is expressed as:
q1 q2
FE = k
r2
Where r is the separation distance between the charged objects and k is a constant of
proportionality, called the Coulomb or Electric constant, k = 8.99 × 109 Nm2/C2.

**PLEASE SHOW SAMPLE CALCULATIONS FOR NUMERICAL ANSWERS.

1. Effect of Separation Distance

1. Click on the following link and adjust the charge q 1 to 2C and q2 to 4C. Record the
values in the table 1.
Click here to access the lab simulation

1
2. Change the distance between the two charges as shown in the table 1.

3. Record the force value for each distance.

4. Fill in the rest of table 1 by finding r2 and 1/r2.

5. Use Excel to plot a graph relating FE (y-axis) and r (x-axis). Sketch the graph or insert
a screenshot. Comment on how the graph appears.

6. Use Excel to plot one more graph relating F E (y-axis) and 1/r2 (x-axis) (Hint: Your
graph should look like a straight line). Sketch the graph or insert a screenshot.

7. Find the slope of the graph and use it along with Coulomb’s Law to find the electric
constant k.

8. Calculate the percentage error for your measured value of k (k known=8.99 × 109
Nm2/C2)

2
 Table 1
q1=…………. q2=………….
r (cm) r2 (m2) 1/r2 (1/m2) FE (N)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3

3
2. Effect of Charge

1. Set q1 to 5C and fix the distance between the two objects at 6 cm, record them in
table 2.

2. Change the charge of object 2 as shown in the table 2 and for each q 2 record the
electric force between the two objects.

3. Plot a graph in Excel relating FE (y-axis) and q2 (x-axis). Sketch the graph or insert
a screenshot. Comment on the graph’s appearance.

4. Find the slope of the graph and use it along with Coulomb’s Law to find the
electric constant k.

5. Calculate the percentage error for your measured value of k (k known=8.99 × 109
Nm2/C2)

Table 2
q1 = 5 C r=6 cm
q2 (C) FE (N)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3