Three balls, with charges of +4q, -2q, and -q, are equally spaced along a line. The spacing between neighboring balls is r. We can arrange the balls in three different ways, as shown in the figure. In each case, the balls are in an isolated region of space very far from anything else. Treat the balls as point charges. 1 211 311 +4a +49 ||||||||||||| ||||||||||||| I +49 -a III -a II -29 I (a) Rank the arrangements according to their potential energy, from most positive to most negative. See if you can do this without explicitly calculating the potential energy in each case. (Use only ">" or "=" symbols. Do not include any parentheses around the letters or symbols.) 3>1>2 (b) Using q = 3.50 x 10-6 C and r = 50.0 cm, calculate the electrostatic potential energy in each of the cases above.
Three balls, with charges of +4q, -2q, and -q, are equally spaced along a line. The spacing between neighboring balls is r. We can arrange the balls in three different ways, as shown in the figure. In each case, the balls are in an isolated region of space very far from anything else. Treat the balls as point charges. 1 211 311 +4a +49 ||||||||||||| ||||||||||||| I +49 -a III -a II -29 I (a) Rank the arrangements according to their potential energy, from most positive to most negative. See if you can do this without explicitly calculating the potential energy in each case. (Use only ">" or "=" symbols. Do not include any parentheses around the letters or symbols.) 3>1>2 (b) Using q = 3.50 x 10-6 C and r = 50.0 cm, calculate the electrostatic potential energy in each of the cases above.
Related questions
Question
Transcribed Image Text:Three balls, with charges of +4q, -2q, and -q, are equally spaced along a line. The spacing between neighboring balls is r. We can arrange the balls in three different ways, as shown in the figure. In
each case, the balls are in an isolated region of space very far from anything else. Treat the balls as point charges.
+4q
1
211
311
(b) Using q
1:
2:
3:
-29
=
+4q
-29
+4q
(a) Rank the arrangements according to their potential energy, from most positive to most negative. See if you can do this without explicitly calculating the potential energy in each case. (Use
only ">" or "=" symbols. Do not include any parentheses around the letters or symbols.)
3>1>2
J
-29
1
3.50 x 10-6 C and r = 50.0 cm, calculate the electrostatic potential energy in each of the cases above.
Expert Solution
Step 1
Electrostatic Potential Energy:
The electrostatic potential energy due to a pair of charges is defined by the formula,
where and are the charges, is the distance between the charges, and is Coulomb's constant.
The potential energy of a System with three charges:
If a system consists of three charges , then its total potential energy is given by the formula,
where is the potential energy due to charges and , is the potential energy due to charges and , and is the potential energy due to charges and .
NOTE:
Trending now
This is a popular solution!
Step by step
Solved in 6 steps
