1. Understand Coulomb's Law
Coulomb's Law describes the electrostatic force between two point charges:
* F = k * (q1 * q2) / r²
Where:
* F is the electrostatic force (in Newtons)
* k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.98755 × 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²)
* q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges (in Coulombs)
* r is the distance between the charges (in meters)
2. Apply Coulomb's Law to the Problem
* F = 5.6 × 10⁻⁹ N
* r = 4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ m
* q1 = q2 = q (since the charges are identical)
We need to solve for q.
3. Rearrange the Equation
* F * r² = k * q²
* q² = (F * r²) / k
4. Plug in the Values and Calculate
* q² = (5.6 × 10⁻⁹ N * (4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ m)²) / (8.98755 × 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²)
* q² ≈ 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁸ C²
* q ≈ 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ C
Answer: Each positive charge has a magnitude of approximately 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ Coulombs.
