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Homework Statement
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In a certain organic molecule, the nuclei of 2 carbon atoms are separated by a distance of .20nm, What is the magnitude of the electric repulsion between them?
Now, I know the distance between them, but it has to be converted into meters:
.20nm = .20 X 10 ^-9m
And k is a proportionality constant, equaling:
8.99 X 10 ^9.
Homework Equations
So I am using Coulomb's law for this which states
F = (K|q1| |q2|)/r^2
The Attempt at a Solution
The only unknowns are q1 and q2. In order to solve for those, I have to know the magnitude of their charge. Since there are 6 protons in a Carbon atom, in order to get the charge I multiply 6 by e, which equals:
1.60X10^-19 C
I have solved for all the unknowns, so all that is left is to plug in all the variables and solve for the F.
F = (8.99 X 10 ^9 * (6*1.60X10^-19)^2)/(.20 X 10 ^-9m)^2
This gives me the final answer of:
2.07x10^-7 N
I wanted to verify that my math and reasoning behind my calculations were correct. Thanks!