Four identical point charges are held in place on an x-y coordinate plane, as sh

Question

Four identical point charges are held in place on an x-y coordinate plane, as shown. Charges q1 and q4 sit on the y-axis a distance d = 2.0 cm from the origin, and charges q2 and q3 sit on the x-axis a distance d = 2.0 cm from the origin. All four charges are negative and have the same magnitude of 3.0 mu C. Answer the questions below, reporting all vectors in unit-vector notation. What is Fvector1,Net, the total force on charge q1 due to the other three charges? What are Fvector2,Net, Fvector3,Net, and Fvector4,Net the total force on charges q2, q3, and q4 respectively? Hint: You do not need a calculator to answer part (b), but you must still justify your answers.

Explanation / Answer

PART (b). Once F1 net is calculated in Part (a), the remaining forces of F2 net , F3 net, and F4 net all have to have the SAME magnitude as found in Part (a) BECAUSE all charges are of the same sign and magnitude, and because all distances between pairs of charges are the same. Thus, all of the four net forces will have the same magnitude. Also, the directions of the remaining three net forces in Part (b) can be found without doing calculations since all of the charges are negative and all of the forces between them are repulsions. For q3 on the + x-axis, F3 net points in the + x-direction. For q2 on the - x-axis, F2 net points in the - x-direction. For q4 on the - y-axis, F4 net points in the - y-direction.

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