Answer Qn1 a, b Phys 212 Tutorial 04Electric Potential Name:1. What is U for these distributions [how many interactions are there]?a) Three charges are on the corners of an equilateral triangle with sides of length a. All have thesame magnitude charge q; two are positive and one is negative.a+,b) Four charges are on the corners of a square of length a. All have the same magnitude chargeq; three are positive and one is negative.aa

Answered: 1. What is U for these distributions…

College Physics

11th Edition

ISBN:9781305952300

Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille

Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille

Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1CQ: Estimate the order of magnitude of the length, in meters, of each of the following; (a) a mouse, (b)...

See similar textbooks

Related questions

Question

Answer Qn1 a, b

Phys 212 Tutorial 04
Electric Potential Name:
1. What is U for these distributions [how many interactions are there]?
a) Three charges are on the corners of an equilateral triangle with sides of length a. All have the
same magnitude charge q; two are positive and one is negative.
a
+,
b) Four charges are on the corners of a square of length a. All have the same magnitude charge
q; three are positive and one is negative.
a
a

Expert Solution

Step 1

We are taking U to be the potential energy of the system.

(a)

The potential energy of the system is equal to the sum of the potential energies between the individual charges.

The potential energy of the system is given by

$\begin{array}{rcl} U & = & U_{+ +} + U_{+ -} + U_{+ -} \\ = & \frac{k q q}{a} + \frac{k q (- q)}{a} + \frac{k q (- q)}{a} \\ = & \frac{k q^{2}}{a} - 2 \frac{k q^{2}}{a} \\ = & - \frac{k q^{2}}{a} \end{array}$

Here, $U_{+ +}$ is the potential energy due to the two positive charges, $U_{+ -}$ is the potential energy due to +q and (-q) and k is the Coulomb constant.

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps

SEE SOLUTION Check out a sample Q&A here

Knowledge Booster

Learn more about

Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.

Similar questions