Faculty of Engineering and Technology

(FET)

PPH0115
Electricity and Magnetism
Foundation in Engineering

ONLINE TUTORIAL

Tutorial 1
Chapter 1: Electrostatics

Faculty of Engineering and Technology,

Multimedia University,
Jalan Ayer Keroh Lama, Bukit Beruang,
75450 Melaka, Malaysi

PPH0115

Electricity and Magnetism

TUTORIAL 1: ELECTROSTATICS
1. Three +20 C charges are placed on a straight line, successive charges being 2 m apart
as shown in Figure 1. Calculate the force on the right end.

2. Three point charges are placed at the following points on the x axis: +2 C at x = 0
cm,3 C at x = 40 cm, and 5 C at x = 120 cm. Find
(a) the force on the 3 C charge.
(b) The force on the 5 C charge.
3. Charges of +2 C, +3 C and 8 C are placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle
of side 10 cm as shown in Figure 2. Calculate the net force acting on the 8C charge
due the other two charges.

4. Two charged dust particles exert a force of 3.2 10-2 N on each other. What will be the
force if they are moved so they are only one-eighth as far apart?

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5. (a) Four equal point charges, +3 C, are placed at the four corner of a square that is
40 cm on aside as shown in Figure 3(a). Find the force on Q1. How would the
answer differ for the forces on the other charges?
(b) Four equal-magnitude point charges, 3 C, are placed at the four corner of a
square that is 40 cm on aside Figure 3(b). Two diagonally opposite each other are
positive and the other two are negative. Find the force on Q1. How would the
answer differ for the forces on the other charges?

6. Find the electric field strength at a distance of 0.1 m from a charge of 2 nC.
7. Four equal magnitude 4 C charges are placed at the four corners of a square that is 20
cm on each side as shown in Figure 4. Find the electric field strength at the center of
the square.

Figure 4

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8. Three charges are placed at three corners of a square as shown in Figure 5. Find the
electric field strength at point A.
9. A +4.75 C and a -3.55 C charge are placed 18.5 cm apart. Where can a third charge
be placed so that it experiences no net force?
10. In a simple model of the hydrogen atom, the electron revolves in a circular orbit around
the proton with a speed of 1.1 106 m/s. Determine the radius of the electrons orbit.
11. An electron is released from rest in a uniform electric field and accelerates to the north
at a rate of 115 m/s2. What are the magnitude and direction of the electric field?
12. The electric field midway between two equal but opposite point charges is 745 N/C
and the distance between the charges is 16.0 cm. What is the magnitude of the charge
on each?
13. An electron with speed vo = 21.5106 m/s is traveling parallel to an electric field of
magnitude E= 11.4103 N/C.
(a) How far will the electron travel before it stops?
(b) How much time will elapse before it returns to its starting point?
14. In Figure 6, what is the net flux through each of the five Gaussian surfaces shown in
cross section? What would happen to the pattern of the field lines and net flux if we
were to bring the enormous charge Q up close to surface 5, S5?
Assume q = +1.6 10 -19C.

Figure 6
15. A cube of side l is placed in a uniform field E = 6.50103 N/C with edges parallel to
the field lines.
(a) What is the net flux through the cube?
(b) What is the flux through each of its six faces?

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16. A solid metal sphere of radius 3.00 m carries a total charge of -3.50C. What is the
magnitude of the electric field at a distance from the spheres center of
(a) 0.15 m,
(b) 2.90 m,
(c) 3.10 m, and
(d) 6.00 m?
(e) How would the answers differ if the sphere were a thin shell?
17. What is the potential at the point midway between charges of +2 C and +5 C which
are 6 m apart?
18. Three equal charges of +6 nC are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle whose
sides are 12 cm long, as shown in Figure 7.
(a) Find the total potential energy of the system of the three charges.
(b) Calculate the electric potential at the center of the triangle.
(c) How much work is required to bring another 9 nC point charge from infinity to a
point at the center of the triangle?
(d) Find the total potential energy of this system of four charges.

Figure 7
19. A point charge Q = +87.1 C is held fixed at the origin. A second point charge, with
mass m= 0.0526 kg and charge q = -2.37 C is placed at the location (0.323 m, 0).
(a) Find the electric potential energy of this system of charges.
(b) If the second charge is released from rest, what is its speed when it reaches the
point (0.121 m, 0)?
20. Two point charges, 3.0 C and -2.0 C are placed 5.0 cm apart on the x axis. At what
points along the x axis is
(a) the electric field zero and
(b) the potential zero? Let V = 0 at r = .
21. An electron starting from rest acquires 6.3 keV of KE in moving from point A to point
B.
(a) How much KE would a proton acquire, starting from rest at B and moving to point
A?
(b) Determine the ratio of their speeds at the end of their respective trajectories.

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22. Two point charges are fixed 4.0 cm apart from each other. Their charges are
Q1 = Q2= +5.0 C, and their masses are m1 = 1.5 g and m2 = 2.5 g.
(a) If Q1 is released from rest, what will be its speed after a very long time?
(b) If both charges are released from rest at the same time, what will be the speed of
Q1 after a very long time?

ANSWERS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1.125 N and points to the right

(a) 0.55 N and points to the left;
(b) 0.15 N and points to the right
31.384 N and makes an angle 83.41o below the +x-axis
2.0 N
(a) 0.969 N and makes an angle 45o above x-axis
(b) 0.4622 N and makes an angle 44.91o below +x-axis
6. 1800 N/C and away from the charge
7. 0 N/C
8. 8.23 105 N/C and makes an angle 45o below x-axis
9. 118 cm from negative charge away from the positive charge
10. 2.110-10 m
11. 6.5410-10 N/C, south
12. 2.6510-10 C
13. (a) 0.115 m
(b) 2.1410-8 s
-8
2
14. 1.8079 10 N m /C
15. (a) 0
(b) 0
(d)8.74102 N/C
(e)same
16. (a) 0
(b) 0
(c) 3.27103 N/C
17. 21 kV
18. (a) 8.110-6 J
(b)1.81 kV
(c)1.62910-5 J
(d) 2.43910-5 J
19. (a) -5.75 J
(b) 19.1 m/s
20. (a) 22 cm left of q2
(b) (2 points) 2 cm from negative charge towards the positive charge and 10 cm from
negative charge away from the positive charge
21. (a) 6.3 keV
(b) ve/vp = 42.8
22. (a) 2.7103 m/s (b) 2.2103 m/s

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