Static Electricity - Mission SE8 Detailed Help

Doubling (OR tripling OR halving) the distance between two charged objects will cause the electrical force between them to be ___ the initial force.


 
Coulomb's Law of Electrical Interaction:
The electrical force exerted between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of the quantity of charge on the objects (Q1 and Q2) and inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance (d) between the two objects. In equation form,
 
Felect= k • Q1• Q2/ d2

k is the constant of proportionality known as the Coulomb's law constant.


 
Coulomb's law states the relationship between electrical force of attraction between two objects and the distance of separation between the objects. See Know the Law section. The relationship between force and distance is often referred to as an inverse square law relationship. The force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. If the distance is increased - doubled or tripled - then the force will be decreased or made smaller. If the distance is decreased - halved - then the force will be increased or made larger. And by whatever factor the distance is changed, the force will change in the inverse direction by the square of that factor. So if the distance is made four times bigger, the force will be 16 (4 squared) times smaller. And if the distance is made five times smaller, the force will be made 25 (5 squared) times larger.