Electric Forces with particles and Columbs law problem.

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating electric forces between charged particles using Coulomb's law. The first particle has a charge of -7.13 × 10-6 C and the second has a charge of 1.87 × 10-6 C, with a force of 148.7 N calculated between them at a distance of 0.0284 meters. The second part involves finding the charge q3 of two identical positive particles, which should exert the same force. The user repeatedly calculated q3 as 3.6 × 10-6 C but received feedback indicating the answer was incorrect, suggesting potential issues with significant figures.

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  • Coulomb's Law
  • Significant Figures in Scientific Calculations
  • Basic Algebra for Solving Equations
  • Understanding of Electric Charge Units (Coulombs)
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  • Study the rules for significant figures in calculations
  • Practice solving problems involving electric forces and charges
  • Explore the concept of electric field strength and its relation to force
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Students studying physics, particularly those focusing on electromagnetism, and anyone needing assistance with electric force calculations and significant figures.

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Homework Statement


Two particles, one with charge -7.13 × 10-6 C and one with charge 1.87 × 10-6 C, are 0.0284 meters apart. What is the magnitude of the force that one particle exerts on the other?
Two new particles, which have identical positive charge q3, are placed the same 0.0284 meters apart, and the force between them is measured to be the same as that between the original particles. What is q3?

Homework Equations


Fe=Kq1*q2 /r^2

The Attempt at a Solution


So for the first part. I got the answer right for the force which was 148.7 N. However for the second part, I tried doing Fe= kq3^2/r^2 and solved for q3. However I keep getting 3.6 x 10 ^-6 columbs and that's wrong according the my physics homework website. Any help where I am going wrong?THanks!
 
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Could it be that you are not expressing your answer to the correct number of significant figures?
 
TSny said:
Could it be that you are not expressing your answer to the correct number of significant figures?
thats what I am thinking. However I've tried diffrent ways of expressing the answer and its still wrong so I am assuming my numbers might be off.
 
What do you get to 3 significant figures?
 
TSny said:
What do you get to 3 significant figures?
3.651 x 10 ^-6 but the answer is still wrong
 
Well, your answer certainly looks correct to me.
 

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