Negative sign in coulomb's law/centripetal motion question

[gsingh2011]

Homework Statement

I had a question in my physics class today that was relatively easy but what I was confused about was a misplaced negative sign. "An electron is rotating around a proton at a distance R. The mass of the electron is m_e and the charge is -e. Find the period."

Homework Equations

F_c=m_ev²/R
F_E=kq₁q₂/R²
T=2pi*r/v

The Attempt at a Solution

The solution was calculated equating the two equations given above. The problem arises when I plug in -e and +e for the charges. This leaves one side of the equation negative, which results in a negative period. How does the negative sign go away? Do I not include the sign for charges?

 

[Redbelly98]

No, you do not include the negative sign of charges in Coulomb's Law for the force between two charges. Coulomb's Law gives the magnitude of the force. If you need to know the direction of the force, use the rule that like charges repel and opposites attract.