Understanding Coulomb's Law

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

* F = k * (q1 * q2) / r²

Where:

* F is the electrostatic force

* k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.98755 × 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²)

* q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges

* r is the distance between the charges

Solving the Problem

1. Find the product of the original charges:

Since we know the initial force (0.10 N) and the distance (2 meters), we can rearrange Coulomb's Law to find the product of the original charges:

* (q1 * q2) = (F * r²) / k

* (q1 * q2) = (0.10 N * (2 m)²) / (8.98755 × 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²)

* (q1 * q2) ≈ 4.45 × 10⁻¹¹ C²

2. Calculate the new force:

Now we have the product of the original charges and the new charges (2 C and 8 C). We can plug these values into Coulomb's Law to find the new force:

* F = k * (q1 * q2) / r²

* F = (8.98755 × 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²) * (2 C * 8 C) / (2 m)²

* F ≈ 35.95 × 10⁹ N

Answer

The 2-C charge and the 8-C charge will attract each other with a force of approximately 35.95 × 10⁹ N when placed 2 meters apart.