Coulomb's Law/Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation (Precalculus?)

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the application of Coulomb's Law in the context of changes to an electric field due to variations in charge and distance from a charged particle. The original poster expresses confusion regarding the relationship between these variables and their impact on the electric field.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to relate changes in charge and distance to the electric field but struggles with the notation used. Some participants seek clarification on the meaning of the original poster's expressions regarding the changes in charge and distance.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging in clarifying the original poster's notation and understanding of the problem. There is a suggestion to compute the ratio of the new electric field to the original field using Coulomb's formula, indicating a productive direction in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

The original poster expresses uncertainty about their understanding of the problem and the relevant equations, indicating a potential gap in foundational knowledge related to classical mechanics and electromagnetism.

Bill Nye Tho
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Homework Statement


The electric field, E, a distance D away from a charged particle is directly proportional to the size of the charge Q, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance D. If the charge is increased by 40% and the distance is increased by 30%, by what percentage does the electric field change?

Homework Equations



?

The Attempt at a Solution



I'm actually pretty upset with how rusty I am at this but for some reason when I read these problems (and precalculus gravitational problems), I can't seem to get Classical Mechanics and Electromagnetism equations out of my mind. Although, I know that the answer will pretty much apply Coulomb's Law. Maybe I'm overthinking this..

ED = Q = 1/D^2

+.35(Q)
+.2(D)

Is all I'm interpreting from the question.
 
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What do +.35(Q) and +.2(D) mean?
 
SteamKing said:
What do +.35(Q) and +.2(D) mean?

Ah, I'm sorry.

I meant to write +.4Q and +.3D.

I'm increasing the charge by 40% and the distance by 30%
 
Bill Nye Tho said:
Ah, I'm sorry.

I meant to write +.4Q and +.3D.

I'm increasing the charge by 40% and the distance by 30%

If you increase Q by 40% then Q becomes 1.4Q. The original electric field is E=kQ/D^2. Compute the ratio of the new field to the original field.
 
Dick said:
If you increase Q by 40% then Q becomes 1.4Q. Think about it.

I know that, I'm just separating the added charge and added distance from the setup because I'm not even sure if I have that done correctly.
 
Bill Nye Tho said:
I know that, I'm just separating the added charge and added distance from the setup because I'm not even sure if I have that done correctly.

That you understand it would be pretty hard to tell when you write things like +.35(Q) and +.2(D). If you know the ratio of initial and final charges and distance then use Coulomb's formula to compute the ratio of electric fields. This is pretty straightforward.
 
Dick said:
That you understand it would be pretty hard to tell when you write things like +.35(Q) and +.2(D). If you know the ratio of initial and final charges and distance then use Coulomb's formula to compute the ratio of charges. This is pretty straightforward.

I think I figured it out, with your help. Thanks
 

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