Solving Force of Charges Problem - 1nC Charge in Middle

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The discussion focuses on calculating the force on a 1nC charge located at the center of a square formed by four other charges: two -2nC charges at the left corners and two +2nC charges at the right corners. The participant uses Coulomb's law to determine the forces acting on the central charge, noting that the y-components cancel out while the x-components contribute to the net force. They initially calculate the force magnitude and find the x-component using trigonometric functions, ultimately arriving at an incorrect answer of 5.1E-4. Feedback suggests that the approach is conceptually correct but likely contains an arithmetic error. The participant is encouraged to review their calculations for accuracy.
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Homework Statement


What is the force F on the 1nC charge in the middle due to the four other harges? Give your answer in component form.

There is a picture that i don't know how to get up so ill just describe it.

There are four charges in a square, length of square = 1cm. the two charges on the left corners of the square are -2nC and the two charges on the right corners of the square are +2nC. There is a charge in the middle of the square of +1 nC.


Homework Equations


I'm just using F= (kq1q2/r^2)


The Attempt at a Solution


so what I am doing is a force diagram and from that i know that the y components cancel out. the magnitude of the forces is equal, therefore their x components will be equal. Using the force equation under step two i determined the magnitude of the force and from that was able to determine the x component with cosine and a 45 degree angle. I then multiplied the x component by 4.
The answer i ended up with was 5.1E-4 where the real answer is actually double that.

Thanks!
 
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The concept is correct. There must have been some arithmetical mistake somewhere. Show your calculations briefly.
 

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