German University in Cairo PHYS 202 Spring 2012

Physics Department Prof. Dr. Reinhard Sigel

Dr. Amr Aboshousha
Dr. Anke Klingner

Extra problems Ch. 23 - solutions

2. (a) Calculate the number of electrons in a small, electrically neutral silver pin that has a mass of
10.0 g. Silver has 47 electrons per atom, and its molar mass is 107.87 g/mol. (b) Electrons are added to the
pin until the net negative charge is 1.00 mC. How many electrons are added for every 109 electrons already
present?
number of electrons N in the pin: (NA: Avogadro’s number, ne: number of electrons per silver
atom)
m 10.0g atoms
N   N A  ne   6.02  10 23  47  2.62  10 24
M 108 g / mol mol
Q 0.001C
electrons added:  19
 6.3  1015  2.4 electrons for every 109 present
e 1.6  10 C

6. Two small silver spheres, each with a mass of 10.0 g, are separated by 1.00 m. Calculate the fraction
of the electrons in one sphere that must be transferred to the other in order to produce an attractive force of
1.00 × 104 N (equivalent to the weight of about 1 ton) between the spheres. (The number of electrons per
atom of silver is 47, and the number of atoms per gram is Avogadro’s number divided by the molar mass of
silver, 107.87 g/mol.)
q q
Coulomb force: F  k e  1 2 2 since charges were transferred from (1) to (2) q1 = -q2 = q.
r

F 10 4
q r   1.0m   1.05  10 3 C .
ke 8.99  10 9

number of electrons transferred: n = q/e. n = 6.59*1015 electrons.

number of electrons in one sphere: see problem 2.  fraction of electrons transferred:
2.51 for every 109.

7. Three point charges are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle as

shown in Figure P23.7. Calculate the resultant electric force on the 7.00-μC
charge. (charge 3)

q1  q 3 2  10 6  7  10 6
F1  k e   8.99  10 9  N  0.503N
r12 0.5m 2
q2 q3  4  10 6  7  10 6
F2  k e   8.99  10 9  N  1.006N
r 22 0.5m 2
F x  F1  cos 60  F 2  cos 60  0.755N
F  0.872N at 330 ° counterclockwise against the
F y  F1  sin 60  F 2  sin 60  0.436N
positive x axis (i.e. to the lower right from charge 3)
9. Two identical conducting small spheres are placed with their centers 0.300 m apart. One is given a
charge of 12.0 nC and the other a charge of –18.0 nC. (a) Find the electric force exerted by one sphere on the
other. (b) What If? The spheres are connected by a conducting wire. Find the electric force between the two
after they have come to equilibrium.
q1  q 2
(a) the two charges do attract each other. F  k e  2
 2.16  10 5 N
r
(b) with the wire: charges will partially compensate. Net charge = -6 nC, equally distributed over
both spheres.  new force F  8.99  10 7 N , now it is repulsion

17. Two point charges are located on the x axis. The first is a charge +Q at x = –a. The second is an
unknown charge located at x = +3a. The net electric field these charges produce at the origin has a magnitude
of 2keQ/a2. What are the two possible values of the unknown charge?
Central point here: What is the DIRECTION of E at the origin? Field due to Q at the origin:
Q
E 1  k e  2 , pointing to the right.
a
If Etotal points to the right, E2 must point to the right and q be negative:
Q q
E 2  E total  E 1  k E 2
 kE  q  9Q
a (3a ) 2

If Etotal points to the left, E2 must point to the left and q be positive:
3Q q
E 2  E total  E 1  k E 2
 kE  q  27Q
a (3a ) 2

19. Three point charges are arranged as shown in Figure P23.19.

(a) Find the vector electric field that the 6.00-nC and –3.00-nC charges
together create at the origin.
(b) Find the vector force on the 5.00-nC charge.
 6nC N
E x  k e  2
   599 i
(0.3m ) C
  3nC N   
Ey  ke     2700 j  E  E x  E y
(0.1m ) 2 C
 
Force on the charge at the origin: F  q  E  (3.00i  13.5 j )N

26. A continuous line of charge lies along the x axis, extending from x = +x0 to positive infinity. The
line carries charge with a uniform linear charge density λ0. What are the magnitude and direction of the
electric field at the origin?
everything along the x axis  can handle the field as a scalar quantity for symmetry reasons

 dq  0dx 0

E  k e  2  rˆ
r
 E  i  k e  
x0
x 2
 E  i  k e
x0
(for 0 > 0 into the negative x

direction)
33. A uniformly charged insulating rod of length 14.0 cm is bent into the shape of a semicircle as
shown in Figure P23.33. The rod has a total charge of –7.50 μC. Find the magnitude and direction of the
electric field at O, the center of the semicircle.
For symmetry reason the y components cancel, and only the x component is left.
k e dq Q L

E x  dE sin    r 2
sin  dq  ds 
L
 r  d and r 


Q q  q 
E  ke 
r 0 
 sin   d  E  k e 2  ( cos  ) 0  2k e 2
L L

N
E  2.16  10 6 i . Pointing in the –x direction, since the charge on the
C
rod is negative.

41. Three equal positive charges q are at the corners of an equilateral triangle
of side a as shown in Figure P23.41. (a) Assume that the three charges together
create an electric field. Sketch the field lines in the plane of the charges. Find the
location of a point (other than ∞) where the electric field is zero. (b) What are the
magnitude and direction of the electric field at P due to the two charges at the base?
The three charges are identical  turning the triangle by 120° makes it look
the same, field at the center must be the same  E at the center is zero
direction of the field lines: analog to the case of two identical charges the
field lines doe “repel” each other.
E1 and E2 are acting at point P, x components cancel each other.
q  q   q 
E1  ke  E2  ke  E y  2E 1  sin60  1.73  k e 2  j j
a2 a2 r

45. The electrons in a particle beam each have a kinetic energy K. What are the magnitude and direction
of the electric field that will stop these electrons in a distance d?
K
a and F against the motion  E in the direction of motion, E 
e d
48. Two horizontal metal plates, each 100 mm square, are aligned 10.0 mm apart, with one above the
other. They are given equal-magnitude charges of opposite sign so that a uniform downward electric field of
2 000 N/C exists in the region between them. A particle of mass 2.00 × 10–16 kg and with a positive charge of
1.00 × 10–6 C leaves the center of the bottom negative plate with an initial speed of 1.00 × 105 m/s at an angle
of 37.0° above the horizontal. Describe the trajectory of the particle. Which plate does it strike? Where does it
strike, relative to its starting point? (strikes the negative plate after a parabola with height 0.181 mm and
width 0.961 mm)
   q m 
force on the particle: F  qE  2mN  ( j ) . Acceleration: a  E  1 1013 2 ( j )
m s
m m
motion in x direction at constant speed v x  1 10 5 cos 37  8  10 4
s s
 m m
parabolic motion with vx and the initial speed in y direction v y  1 10 5  sin 37  6.02  10 4
s s
maximum height of the parabola is reached, when vy = 0:

v yf2  v yi2  2a  y  0  y  0.181mm  the charge does not reach the upper plate.

Instead, it reaches the lower plate (y = 0) after

a
0  0  v y t  t 2  t  1.2  10 8 s
2
The distance is traveled in x direction is
x  v x  t  0.96 mm

49. Protons are projected with an initial speed

vi = 9.55 × 103 m/s into a region where a uniform electric field E
= –720ĵ N/C is present, as shown in Figure P23.49. The protons
shall hit a target that lies at a horizontal distance of 1.27 mm
from the point where the protons cross the plane and enter the
electric field in Figure P23.49. Find (a) the two projection angles
θ that will result in a hit and (b) the total time of flight (the time
interval during which the proton is above the plane in Figure
P23.49) for each trajectory.
e m
acceleration in y direction: a y  E  6.90  1010 2
m s
2v i2 sin 2
for the range of the projectile motion x  1.27mm  v i  cos  t we have x 
ay
(Serway, Chapter 4) and get sin 2  0.961 and hence   36.9 and 90    53.1
for the travel times one gets t 1  167ns and t 2  221ns)

50. Two known charges, q1 = –12.0 μC and q2 = 45.0 μC, and an unknown charge are located on the x
axis. The charge –12.0 μC is at the origin, and the charge 45.0 μC is at x = 15.0 cm. The unknown charge is
to be placed so that each charge is in equilibrium under the action of the electric forces exerted by the other
two charges. Is this situation possible? Is it possible in more than one way? Find the required location,
magnitude, and sign of the unknown charge.
only q1 and q2: have attracting forces of equal magnitude, but opposite direction (F1 to the right, F2
to the left)
Where to place the third charge: Left of the two others ( x < 0), right of the two others (x > 15 cm),
in-between (0 < x < 15cm)? Make symmetry considerations
x > 15 cm: stronger force on q2 than on q1  rejected
0 < x < 15 cm: the two new forces on q1 and q2 would point both in the same direction, so only the
forces on one of them could be cancelled
x < 0 cm: need force on q1 to the left, on q2 to the right  q3 must be positive. For the magnitude
q q q3 q2
ad position of q3: F 31  k e 3 2 1 and F 31  F 32  k e . Since F31 must be equal in
x (x  15cm ) 2
magnitude to F21, on gets x = -16 cm and q3 = 51.3 cm
52. Three point charges are aligned along the x axis as shown in Figure
P23.52. Find the electric field at (a) the position (2.00, 0) and (b) the position
(0, 2.00).
(a) field at (2, 0) must be along the x axis. E1 to the left, E2 to the right, E3 to the right
    4nC 5nC 3nC  N 
E  (E 1  E 2  E 3 )i  k e  i   2
 2
   24.2  i

 (2.5m ) (2.0m ) (1.2m ) 2  C

4nC 5nC
(b) E 1  k e , to the lower left, E 2  k e in y
0.5m 2
 2.0m 
2
2.0m 2
3nC
direction, E 3  k e to the upper left. Breaking down into the
0.8m 2  2.0m 2
components gives
  N  N   N
E 1  (2.06i  8.21j ) , E 2  (11.2 j ) , E 3  (2.16i  5.39 j )
C C C
N N N
giving a total of E x  4.21 and E y  8.43 , E  9.42 at and angle of
C C C
63.4 ° above the negative x axis.

62. Two small spheres, each of mass 2.00 g, are suspended by light strings 10.0
cm in length (Fig. P23.62). A uniform electric field is applied in the x direction. The
spheres have charges equal to –5.00 × 10–8 C and +5.00 × 10–8 C. Determine the electric
field that enables the spheres to be in equilibrium at an angle θ = 10.0°.

Forces acting on the charges: (1) gravitational, (2) Coulomb attraction between the two charges, (3)
electric due to the external electric field, (4) tension in the string. The two electric forces are
opposite in direction to each other: On the negative charge, (2) is to the left, (3) to the right, for the
positive charge the other way around.
At  = 10 °, F = 0 on both charges.

q2
F y  0  mg  T cos . F x  0  q  E  k e  T sin  and
x2
x  2L sin  with L the length of the string.
This allows one to eliminate T and get the electric field:
N
E  4.43  10 5
C