Numerical Problems

1. Suppose that positive and negative charges, each of magnitude 1.37×105 C could be
concentrated into two separate bundles, held 100 m apart. What attractive force would act on
each bundle?
2. The average distance r between the electron and the proton in the hydrogen atom is 5.3×10-11
m. (a) What is the magnitude of the average electrostatic force that acts between these two
particles? (b) What is the magnitude of the average gravitational force that acts between these
particles?
3. The nucleus of an iron atom has a radius of about 4×10-15 m and contains 26 protons. What
repulsive electrostatic force acts between two protons in such a nucleus if a distance of one
radius separates them?
4. The figure shows three charged particles, held in place by forces not
shown. What electrostatic force, due to the other two charges, acts
on q1? Take q1 = -1.2 µC, q2 = +3.7 µC, q3 = -2.3 µC, r12 = 15 cm,
r13 = 10 cm, and θ = 32o.
5. What must be the distance between point charge q1 = 26.3 µC and
point charge q2 = -47.1 µC for the attractive electrical force between
them to have a magnitude of 5.66 N?
6. Following figure shows two charges, q1 and q2, held a fixed
distance d apart. (a) Find the strength of the electric force that
acts on q1. Assume that q1 = q2 = 21.3 µC and d = 1.52 m. (b) A
third charge q3 = 21.3 µC is brought in and placed as shown in
figure. Find the strength of the electric force on q1 now.
7. Each of two small spheres is charged positively, the total charge being 52.6 µC. Each sphere is
repelled from the other with a force of 1.19 N when the spheres are 1.94 m apart. Calculate the
charge on each sphere.
8. A neutron is thought to be composed of one “up” quark of charge +(2/3)e and two “down”
quarks each having charge –(1/3)e. If the down quarks are 2.6×10-15 m apart inside the neutron,
what is the repulsive electrical force between them?
9. An electron (q = -e) placed near a charged body experiences a force in the +y direction of
magnitude 3.60×10-8 N. (a) What is the electric field at that location? (b) What would be the
force exerted by the same charged body on an alpha particle (q = +2e) placed at the location
formerly occupied by the electron?
10. In an ionized helium atom (a helium atom in which one of the two electrons has been removed),
the electron and the nucleus are separated by 26.5 pm. What is the magnitude of the electric
field due to the nucleus at the location of the electron?
11. Following figure shows a charge q1 of +1.5 µC and a charge
q2 of +2.3µC. The first charge is at the origin of an x-axis,
and the second is at a position x = L, where L = 13 cm. At
what point P along the x-axis is the electric field zero?
12. An alpha particle, the nucleus of a helium atom, has a mass of 6.64×10-27 kg and a charge of
+2e. What is the magnitude and direction of the electric field that will balance its weight?
13. What is the magnitude of a point charge chosen so that the electric field 75.0 cm away has the
magnitude 2.30 N/C?
14. Calculate the dipole moment of an electron and a proton that are 4.30 nm apart.
15. Calculate the magnitude of the electric field, due to an electric dipole of dipole moment
3.56×10-29 Cm, at a point 25.4 nm away along the bisector axis.
16. An electron moving with a speed of 4.86×106 m/s is shot parallel to a uniform electric field of
strength 1030 N/C arranged so as to retard its motion. (a) How far will the electron travel in the
field before coming (momentarily) to rest and (b) how much time will elapse?
17. One weapon being considered for anti-missile defense uses particle beams. For example, a
proton beam striking an enemy missile could render it harmless. Such beams can be produced
in “guns” using electric fields to accelerate the charged particles. (a) What acceleration would
a proton experience if the electric field is 2.16×104 N/C? (b) What speed would the proton attain
if the field acts over 1.22 cm?
18. Two equal and opposite charges of magnitude 1.88×10-7 C are held 15.2 cm apart. What are the
magnitude and direction of 𝐸̅ at a point midway between the charges?
19. An electric dipole consists of charges +2e and –2e separated by 0.78 nm. It is in an electric
field of strength 3.4×106 N/C. Calculate the magnitude of the torque on the dipole when the
dipole moment is (a) parallel, (b) at a right angle, and (c) opposite to the electric field.
20. Two point-charges of magnitudes q1 = 2.16 µC and q2 = 85.3 nC are 11.7 cm apart. (a) Find
the magnitude of the electric field that each produces at the site of the other. (b) Find the
magnitude of the force on each charge.
21. A point charge of 1.84 µC is at the center of a cubical Gaussian surface 55 cm on edge. Find
flux through the surface.
22. A square surface measures 3.2 mm on each side. It is immersed in a uniform electric field with
E = 1800 N/C. The field lines make an angle of 650 with the “outward pointing” normal on the
surface. Calculate the flux through the surface.
23. A cube with 1.4 m edges is oriented in a region of uniform electric field. Find the electric flux
through the right face if the electric field is given by (a) (6 N/C) 𝑖̂, (b) (-2 N/C) 𝑗̂ and (c) (-3
N/C) 𝑖̂ + (4 N/C) 𝑘̂. (d) Calculate the total flux through the cube for each of these fields.
24. A point charge +q is a distance d/2 from a square surface of side d and is directly above the
center of the square. Find the electric flux through the square.
25. An alpha particle q = 2e in a nuclear accelerator moves from one terminal at a potential of Va
= 6.5×106 V to another at a potential Vb = 0. What is the corresponding change in the potential
energy of the system?
26. A proton with a charge of 1.6×10-19 C is released from rest in a uniform electric field of
magnitude 8×104 V/m. After the proton has moved 0.5 m. What is the change in electric
potential? What is the change in potential energy?
27. What must be the magnitude of an isolated positive point charge for electric potential at 15 cm
from the charge to be 120 V? Assume that V = 0 at infinity.
28. What is the electric potential at the surface of a gold nucleus? The radius is 7.0×10-15 m and the
atomic number Z is 79.
29. The protons in a nucleus of U238 are 6.0×10-15 m apart. What is their mutual electric potential
energy?
30. Calculate the potential at point P, located at the center of the square of point charges as shown
in the figure. Assume d = 1.3 m and the charges are, q1 = 12 nC, q2 = -24
nC, q3 = 31 nC, q4 = 17 nC.
31. Calculate (a) the electric potential established by the nucleus of a hydrogen
atom at the mean distance of the circulating electron (r = 5.3×10-19 m) (b)
the electric potential energy of the atom when the electron is at its radius
and (c) the kinetic energy of the electron assuming it to be moving in a
circular orbit of this radius centered on the nucleus. (d) How much energy is required to ionize
the hydrogen atom? Express all energies in electron volts.
32. A point charge q = 1.16 mC. Consider point A which is 2.06 m distant, and point B, which is
1.17m distant in a direction diametrically opposite, as in the figure. Find the potential difference

VA - VB.
33. Two objects, one with mass m1 = 0.0022 kg and charge q1 = +32 µC and the other with mass
m2 = 0.0039 kg and charge q2 = -18 µC, are initially at a distance 4.6 cm apart. With object 1
held in a fixed position, object 2 is released from rest. What is the speed of object 2 when the
separation between the objects is 2.3 cm? Assume that the objects behave like point charges.
34. In the quark model of fundamental particles, a proton is composed of three quarks: two “up”
quarks, each having charge +23e, and one “down” quark, having charge −13𝑒. Suppose that the
three quarks are equidistant from each other. Take the distance to be 1.32×10-15 m and calculate
the total electric potential energy of the system.
35. Two parallel, flat, conducting surfaces of spacing d = 1.0 cm have a potential difference ΔV of
10.3 kV. An electron is projected from one plate directly toward the second. What is the initial
velocity of the electron if it comes to rest just at the surface of the second plate? Ignore
relativistic effects.
36. In a typical lightning flash, the potential difference between discharge points is about 1.0×109
V and the quantity of charge transferred is about 30 C. How much energy is released? If all the
energy released could be used to accelerate a 1200 kg automobile from rest, what would be the
final speed of the automobile?
37. One end of an aluminum wire whose diameter is 2.5 mm is welded to one end of copper wire
whose magnitude is 1.8 mm. The composite wire carries I of 1.3A. What is the current density
in each wire?
38. A strip of silicon, of cross sectional width w = 3.2 mm and thickness d = 250 µm, carries a
current of 190 mA. The silicon is n-type semiconductor, having doped. The doping has the
effect of greatly increasing n, the number of charge carries per unit volume as compared with
value for pure silicon. In this case n = 8.0×1021 m-3 (a) what is current density (b) what is drift
speed?
39. A rectangular block of iron has dimensions 1.2 cm×1.2 cm×158 cm (a) what is the resistance
of the block measured between the two square ends? (b) What is the resistance between two
opposing rectangular faces? The resistivity of iron at room temperature is 9.68×10-8 Ωm.
40. A steel trolley-car rail has a cross sectional area of 56 cm2. What is the resistance of 11km of
rail? The resistivity of the steel is 3.0×10-7 Ωm.
41. Using the 470 Ω resistor in series with the LED, how much current will be able to flow with a
5V source?
42. A proton is moving in a circular orbit of radius 14 cm in a uniform magnetic field of magnitude
0.35 T, directed perpendicular to the velocity of the proton. Find the orbital speed of the proton.
43. A proton moves in a direction perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field B at 1.00×107 m/s and
experiences an acceleration of 2.00×1013 m/s2 in the +z direction. Determine the magnitude and
direction of the field.
44. A proton moving at 4.00×106 m/s through a magnetic field of 1.70 T experiences a magnetic
force of magnitude 8.20×10-13 N. What is the angle between the protons velocity and the field?
45. An electron is accelerated from rest by a potential difference of 350 V. It then enters a uniform
magnetic field of magnitude 200 mT, its velocity being at right angles to this field. Calculate
(a) the speed of the electron and (b) the radius of its path in the magnetic field.
46. At a certain location in the northern hemisphere, the Earth’s magnetic field has a magnitude of
42 µT and points downward at 57o to the vertical. Calculate the flux through a horizontal surface
of area 2.5 m2.
47. An automobile having a radio antenna 110 cm long travels at 90 km/h in a region where Earth’s
magnetic field is 55 µT. Find the maximum possible value of the induced emf.
48. The mirror’s radius of curvature is 60 cm. Find the location, size and orientation of the image
of the cat.

15 cm

80 cm

49. If the image of the book is 5.0 cm below the lens, find the focal length of the lens.

Lens

13 cm

Book

50. Two identical converging lenses of focal lengths f1 = f2 = 15 cm were separated by a distance
d of 6 cm. A luminous source is placed at 10 cm from the first lens. Locate the final image.