Understanding Coulomb's Law

Coulomb's Law describes the force between two point charges:

* F = k * (q1 * q2) / r²

Where:

* F is the force between the charges

* k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.99 x 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²)

* q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges

* r is the distance between the charges

Solving the Problem

1. Analyze the relationship: Notice that the force (F) is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r²). This means if you double the distance, the force decreases by a factor of four.

2. Apply the principle: Since we're doubling the distance from 12 cm to 24 cm, the force will be reduced by a factor of four.

3. Calculate the new force: The new force will be 20 N / 4 = 5 N.

Therefore, when the distance between the charges is doubled to 24 cm, the attractive force between them will be 5 N.