Exam #1 practice problems solutions Physics 227

1. You are a design engineer working for a passenger train manufacturer. You’ve been asked to investigate the
feasibility of using a uniform electric field to levitate and propel a train forward. Here are the details:
• Assume the train is a single car with mass 40,000 kg.
• The train should levitate above the track at a distance of 0.5 m.
• The train will be electrically charged to −5.0 × 10−2 𝐶.
• The train is to accelerate to the left at 3.3 𝑚⁄𝑠 2 , starting from rest.
a. Draw a force diagram for the train while it’s accelerating.
b. Draw a sketch of the train and include electric field lines representing the external electric field required to
levitate and accelerate the train in the desired way.
c. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the required electric field.
Since the train accelerates to the left, the net force exerted on
the train must also point to the left. This means the electric force E
must point up and to the left. But, since the train is negatively
charged, the electric field must point opposite that direction,
which would be down and the right.
The vertical component of the electric force exerted on the train
must balance the gravitational force exerted on the train since
the train’s acceleration is to the left. Using the standard Cartesian
coordinate system, the y component of Newton’s 2nd law is

F y =0
 FE , y − mg = 0
 qE y − mg = 0
mg ( 40, 000 kg )( 9.8 N kg )
 Ey = = = −7.84 106 N C
q −0.05 C
The train accelerates to the left, and the x component of Newton’s 2nd law gives,
1 1
ax =
m
 Fx = qEx
m
max ( 40, 000 kg ) ( −3.3m s )
2

 Ex = = = 2.64  106 N C
q −0.05 C
The magnitude of this electric field is

( 2.64 10 N C ) + ( −7.84 106 N C ) = 8.27 106 N C

2 2
E = Ex2 + E y2 = 6

The direction of this electric field is

 Ey  −1  −7.84 10 N C 
6
 = tan −1   = tan   = −71.4
 Ex   2.64  10 6
N C 
That is, 71.4 degrees below the positive x axis, which is consistent with the diagram.
2. A very small and light aluminum ball is suspended by an insulating thread between
two aluminum plates. Both the ball and the plates are neutral at this point. Each plate
is mounted vertically on an insulating plastic base. Then, a power supply is connected
to the plate on the left which keeps it at a constant negative charge. As soon as this
happens a sequence of events follows:
a. The ball swings toward the left plate.
b. As soon as the ball touches the left plate it immediately swings across to the right
plate.
c. After brief contact with the right plate the ball swings back across to the left
plate.
d. This swinging between and contacting the plates happens several dozen times,
then starts slowing down. Eventually the swinging stops and the ball comes to
rest hanging in between the plates again.
Explain in detail why each step of this is happening. Be specific, using relevant diagrams if you think they will help
you in your explanations.
Once the power supply causes the left plate to become negative, the ball polarizes and is attracted to the left plate.
Once the ball touches the left plate electrons are transferred to the ball. The ball is repelled by the left plate and swings
toward the right plate. Additionally, since the ball is negative and the right plate is neutral the ball is attracted to the
right plate. When the ball touches the right plate nearly all of the electrons are transferred to the right plate. Since the
ball is nearly neutral it will be attracted by both plates, but it will be attracted to the left plate more since the left plate is
(at the moment) more negatively charged. So, the ball swings back to the left plate, touches it, and the whole sequence
of events repeats. Eventually, so many electrons have been transferred from the left plate to the right plate by the ball
that the forces being exerted on the ball by the plates will balance and it will remain hanging in the middle.

3. The water molecule is naturally polarized, meaning that even if there is no external electric field there will still be a
positive end and a negative end to the molecule. Even though the water molecule is somewhat complicated, this
“natural electric dipole” can be represented with the following model:
• A single pointlike positive charge of magnitude 𝑞 = 10𝑒 located at the point (𝑎, 0) where 𝑎 =
3.9 × 10−12 𝑚.
• A single pointlike negative charge of the same magnitude located at the point (−𝑎, 0).
a. Draw a labeled diagram of the situation, then determine the value of the electric field at the point (5𝑎, 0).
b. Construct an expression for the electric field of the water molecule along the x-axis. Write your expression in
terms of the distance 𝑥 from the center of the molecule, 𝑞, 𝑎, and any other fundamental constants you might
need.
c. Now, create a simplified equation for the electric field far from the water molecule, in other words, for 𝑥 ≫ 𝑎.
Hints: Take your result from part b. and use algebra to combine fractions. Next, in the denominator factor out
powers of 𝑥 to create as many powers of 𝑎 ⁄𝑥 as you can, then wherever 𝑎 ⁄𝑥 appears raised to a power greater
than one replace it with zero.
Both of the charges in the dipole will contribute to the electric
field at (5𝑎, 0). The positive charge creates a contribution that
points to the right, and the negative charge creates one that
points to the left.
1 𝑞1 1 𝑞2
𝐸⃗ = 𝑟̂1 + 𝑟̂
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟12 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟22 2
1 10𝑒 1 −10𝑒
𝐸⃗ = 2 𝑖̂ + 𝑖̂
4𝜋𝜀0 (4𝑎) 4𝜋𝜀0 (6𝑎)2
10𝑒 1 1 25𝑒
𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ ( − ) = 𝑖̂
4𝜋𝜀0 16 36 288𝜋𝜀0 𝑎 2
25(1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)
𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂
288𝜋(8.85 × 10−12 𝐶 2 ⁄𝑁 ⋅ 𝑚2 )(3.9 × 10−12 𝑚)2
= (3.28 × 1013 𝑁⁄𝐶 )𝑖̂
For parts b. and c. I’ll start with the same expression except allow the distance along the x axis to vary:
1 𝑞 1 −𝑞 𝑞 1 1
𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ + 𝑖̂ = 𝑖̂ ( − )
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑥 − 𝑎)2 4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑥 + 𝑎)2 4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑥 − 𝑎)2 (𝑥 + 𝑎)2
Next, combine the fractions.
𝑞 (𝑥 + 𝑎)2 − (𝑥 − 𝑎)2
⟹ 𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ ( )
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑥 + 𝑎)2 (𝑥 − 𝑎)2
Next, expand the numerator and factor 𝑥 2 out of each part of the denominator (to start getting 𝑎 ⁄𝑥 into the expression
for making the 𝑥 ≫ 𝑎 approximation later).

𝑞 (𝑥 2 + 2𝑎𝑥 + 𝑎 2 ) − (𝑥 2 − 2𝑎𝑥 + 𝑎 2 )
⟹ 𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ ( )
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑎 2 𝑎 2
𝑥 2 (1 + 𝑥 ) 𝑥 2 (1 − 𝑥 )

Next, simplify the numerator and expand the denominator.

𝑞 4𝑎𝑥
⟹ 𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ ( 2 )
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 2
𝑥 2 (1 + 2 𝑥 + (𝑥 ) ) 𝑥 2 (1 − 2 𝑥 + (𝑥 ) )

Now make the 𝑥 ≫ 𝑎 approximation. Since 𝑎 ⁄𝑥 is small, (𝑎 ⁄𝑥)2 is extremely small in comparison so set (𝑎 ⁄𝑥 )2 = 0.

𝑞 4𝑎𝑥
⟹ 𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ ( )
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑥 4 (1 + 2 𝑎 ) (1 − 2 𝑎 )
𝑥 𝑥
Cancel one power of 𝑥, and multiply the other two factors in the denominator together.

𝑞 4𝑎
⟹ 𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂ ( )
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑎 2
𝑥 3 (1 − 4 (𝑥 ) )

Lastly, set (𝑎 ⁄𝑥)2 = 0 again and simplify.

𝑎𝑞
⟹ 𝐸⃗ = 𝑖̂
𝜋𝜀0 𝑥 3
So, the electric field produced by a dipole decreases as 1⁄𝑥 3 , more rapidly than a single point charge. This seems
reasonable since while the water molecule is polarized, it is also overall electrically neutral.
4. A hollow steel flagpole (20.0 m tall, 0.3 m radius) has acquired a positive charge
(7.0 × 10−6 𝐶) due to the friction with the blowing wind. This charge is evenly
distributed along on the outer curved surface of the flagpole.
a. Use Gauss’s law to estimate the magnitude and direction of the E field 10.0 m
up from the ground and 1.0 m from the surface of the flagpole. Explain the
choices you made in using Gauss’s law. Include a labeled diagram with your
explanation.
b. Sketch a graph of the magnitude of the E field 10.0 m above the ground as a
function of horizontal distance from the very center of the flagpole. Hint:
Don’t forget to think about the E field inside the flagpole.
The imaginary surface I will use to apply Gauss’s law to will be a cylinder of height h,
and radius r= 1.3 m (so that the point of interest is on that surface). The only part of
the surface that will have nonzero electric flux will be the curved part.
𝑞𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
∮ 𝐸⃗ ⋅ 𝑑𝐴 =
𝜀0
𝜆ℎ 𝑄ℎ
⟹ 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟ℎ) = =
𝜀0 𝜀0 𝐿
𝑄 7.0 × 10−6 𝐶
⟹𝐸= = = 4.84 × 103 𝑁⁄𝐶
2𝜋𝑟𝜀0 𝐿 2𝜋(1.3 𝑚)(8.85 × 10−12 𝐶 2 ⁄𝑁 ⋅ 𝑚2 )(20 𝑚)
Outside the flagpole the E field decreases as 1 r . To determine the E field inside the
flagpole I need to shrink the Gaussian surface so it’s inside the flagpole too. The
electric charge within that surface is zero (since the charge of the flagpole is on its
outer surface) which means the E field inside the flagpole is zero.

E
25 000

20 000

15 000

10 000

5000

r
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
5. Three glass spheres of charge 𝑄 = +10−9 𝐶 are placed at the corners of a square of side 𝐿 = 0.1 𝑚 (one corner is
left empty).
a. Draw a labeled diagram of the situation, then determine the value of the electric potential field (V field) at the
center of the square.
A proton is now placed at rest at the center of the square, then released so it can move freely.
b. Describe in words the resulting motion of the proton from when it starts to when it’s extremely far from the
spheres. Does it ever have constant velocity? Constant acceleration? Explain your reasoning.
c. Determine the speed of the proton as it passes through the empty corner of the square.
The V field at the center of the square is due to the three glass spheres. Since the spheres are equidistant from the
center the V field this is

1 𝑞 1 𝑞 1 10−9 𝐶
𝑉 = 3( ) = 3( ) = 3( ) = 381 𝑉
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 4𝜋𝜀0 √2 4𝜋(8.85 × 10−12 𝐶 2 ⁄𝑁 ∙ 𝑚2 ) √2
(0.1 𝑚)
2 𝐿 2
The electric field (E field) produced by the three spheres is non-uniform so the
+ +
proton will never have exactly constant acceleration or constant velocity, however,
once the proton is far from the spheres its acceleration approaches zero and its
velocity approaches constant. To determine the speed of the proton when it 2L
reaches the empty corner I’ll use energy conservation. The system will be the three L
spheres + the proton. Since this is an isolated system the total energy of the system
is constant. First I’ll determine the value of the V field at the empty corner (I’ve
already determined its value at the center.) + p+
1 𝑞 1 𝑞 𝑞 1 L
𝑉= + 2( )= ( + 2)
4𝜋𝜀0 √2𝐿 4𝜋𝜀0 𝐿 4𝜋𝜀0 𝐿 √2
10−9 𝐶 1
𝑉= −12 2 2 ( + 2) = 243 𝑉
4𝜋(8.85 × 10 𝐶 ⁄𝑁 ∙ 𝑚 )(0.1 𝑚) √2
Now for energy conservation:
𝐾𝑖 + 𝑈𝑞,𝑖 = 𝐾𝑓 + 𝑈𝑞,𝑓
1
0 + 𝑞𝑝 𝑉𝑖 = 𝑚 𝑣 2 + 𝑞𝑝 𝑉𝑓
2 𝑝 𝑓

2𝑞𝑝 (𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑓 ) 2(1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)(381 𝑉 − 243 𝑉)

𝑣𝑓 = √ =√ = 1.63 × 105 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝑚𝑝 1.67 × 10−27 𝑘𝑔

6. An aluminum soda can is resting on a plastic base. A piece

of aluminum foil hangs vertically from a thread (an
Aluminum foil
insulator) so that the foil is touching the right side of the
soda can. A positively charged glass sphere is slowly moved
closer to the left side of the can, eventually touching it
briefly. The sphere is then slowly moved away. + +
+ + Soda can
a. Describe what will happen (both visibly and
microscopically) to the glass sphere, the soda can, and Plastic base
the aluminum foil as a result of these actions. Give
explanations for why these things happen (or for why nothing happens). Draw charge diagrams to help with
your explanations.
b. Repeat part a., except with the soda can replaced with a plastic bottle.
Since the can and foil are in
contact they will behave like a
single conducting object.
When the sphere gets close to
the soda can it draws electrons
towards it, polarizing the
can/foil. Once the sphere
touches the can electrons transfer from the can to the sphere. Since in a conductor electrons can freely move, electrons
in the can+foil will redistribute so that both the can and foil will end up positively charged. That means the can and foil
will repel and separate. This persists even after the sphere has been moved far away.
If the can is replaced with a plastic
bottle it will still polarize but only
microscopically towards the left end
of the can. When the sphere touches
the bottle a few electrons will
transfer from the bottle to the
sphere. The left end of the bottle
becomes slightly positively charged but since plastic is an insulator there’s no way for the foil to become positively
charged like it did in part a. This means the foil will not separate from the bottle.

7. Answer the following questions involving the electric force.

a. A proton has the indicated initial velocity in a region with electric field
shown. Add the proton’s resulting trajectory to the diagram.
b. A compact positively charged object is located at the origin of a
coordinate system and can’t move. An electron is located 1 meter to the
left of the origin and is at rest. Describe in detail the resulting motion of
the electron.
c. Imagine a large vacuum-filled parallel plate capacitor with circular plates
(radius 0.5 m, separated by 0.1 m). The +/- plates of the capacitor are charged to +10−6 𝐶 and −10−6 𝐶
respectively. A proton is released from rest halfway between the plates. How much time will pass before the
proton reaches one of the plates?
Part a. The proton will have a constant acceleration to the right since the
electric field is uniform. That results in a parabolic trajectory.
Part b. The electron will accelerate towards the origin, but that acceleration will
increase as it approaches since the electric field produced by the positively
charged object increases in magnitude closer to the origin.
Part c. The proton will have constant acceleration towards the negative plate so
I can use kinematics to describe its motion. I’ll choose the origin at the initial
position of the proton with the positive direction towards the negatively
charged plate.
1 1
𝑥 = 𝑥0 + 𝑣0 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2 = 0 + 0 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2 2

2𝑥 2𝑥 2𝑥 2𝑥 2𝑥 2𝑥 2𝑥𝜀0 𝑚𝜋𝑟 2
𝑡=√ =√ =√ =√ = √ 𝑞𝜎 = √ = √
𝑎 ∑ 𝐹𝑜𝑛 𝑃 𝑞𝐸 𝑞(𝜎 ⁄𝜀0 ) 𝑞(𝑄⁄𝜋𝑟 2 ) 𝑞𝑄
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚𝜀0 𝑚𝜀0
 𝐶 2
2(0.05 𝑚)(8.85 × 10−12 𝑁𝑚 2 )(1.67 × 10
−27 𝑘𝑔)𝜋(0.5 𝑚)2
𝑡=√ = 8.5 × 10−8 𝑠
(1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)(10−6 𝐶)

8. A carbon dioxide (CO2) molecule consists of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom in the arrangement shown.
Oxygen atoms are more electronegative than carbon atoms, which effectively makes the ends of the molecule
slightly negatively charged (-2.00 × 10−20 𝐶) and the center of the molecule slightly positively charged
(4.00 × 10−20 𝐶).
 A
5.00 10−11 m

O C O

1.16 10−10 m
a. Using this model of the CO2 molecule, make a conceptual argument for what direction the electric field points at
location A.
b. Calculate the value of the electric field at location A.
The electric field at point A is a superposition of the contributions to the electric field from the three charged particles.
The positively charged carbon atom’s contribution will point in the positive y direction. The left negatively charged
oxygen atom’s contribution will point in down and to the left. The right oxygen atom’s will point down and to the right.
The horizontal components of the contributions from the oxygen atoms will cancel, leaving a net downward component.
Since the oxygen atoms are so much further away from point A than the carbon atom is, the net electric field at point A
will likely point in the positive y direction.
Mathematically this idea can be written as (refer to the diagram below):

EC

ELO  A E
RO

y x2 + y2

O C O
x
𝐸𝑦 = 𝐸𝐶,𝑦 + 𝐸𝐿𝑂,𝑦 + 𝐸𝑅𝑂,𝑦 = 𝐸𝐶,𝑦 + 2𝐸𝑅𝑂,𝑦
“C” refers to the carbon atom, “LO” refers to the left oxygen atom, and “RO” the right oxygen atom. The last step comes
from 𝐸𝐿𝑂,𝑦 = 𝐸𝑅𝑂,𝑦 in this situation.
|𝑞𝐶 | |𝑞𝑂 | |𝑞𝐶 | |𝑞𝑂 | 𝑦 |𝑞𝐶 | 2|𝑞𝑂 |𝑦
𝐸𝑦 = 𝑘 + 2 (−𝑘 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃) = 𝑘 − 2𝑘 2 = 𝑘( 2 − 2 )
𝑟𝐶2 𝑟𝑂2 𝑦 2 2
𝑥 + 𝑦 √𝑥 + 𝑦
2 2 𝑦 (𝑥 + 𝑦 2 )3⁄2

4.00 × 10−20 𝐶 2(2.00 × 10−20 𝐶)(5.00 × 10−11 𝑚)

𝐸𝑦 = (8.99 × 109 𝑁𝑚2 ⁄𝐶 2 ) ( − )
(5.00 × 10−11 𝑚)2 ((1.16 × 10−10 𝑚)2 + (5.00 × 10−11 𝑚)2 )3⁄2
𝐸𝑦 = 1.35 × 1011 𝑁⁄𝐶

𝐸⃗ = (1.35 × 1011 𝑁⁄𝐶 )𝑗̂

9. By accelerating electrons to extremely high speeds and firing
them at nuclei we can probe the structure of the nucleus.
By doing this particle physicists have determined that the
radius of the proton is approximately 𝑟0 = 1.2 × 10−15 𝑚.
This is much smaller than the radius of an atom, which for
hydrogen is approximately 𝑎0 = 5.3 × 10−11 𝑚. Using this
information, it’s possible to construct the following model of
the hydrogen atom:
• The nucleus is a single proton which is going to be
treated as a solid sphere of uniformly distributed
positive charge with the radius shown and total charge
equal to the standard proton charge.
• The electron is going to be treated as a thin hollow
spherical shell with the nucleus directly in the middle.
This shell has the radius shown and total charge equal to
the standard electron charge.
Express your answer for all parts of this problem in terms of the charge on the proton +𝑒, the radius of the nucleus
𝑟0 , the radius of the atom 𝑎0 , and any other fundamental constants you need.
a. What is the magnitude of the electric field outside of the atom as a function of distance (𝑟) from the center of
the nucleus? Explain your reasoning.
b. What is the magnitude of the electric field between the nucleus and the electron shell as a function of distance
(𝑟) from the center of the nucleus. Explain your reasoning.
c. What is the magnitude of the electric field within the nucleus as a function of distance (𝑟) from its center?
The situation has spherical symmetry so I could apply Gauss’s law using a sphere as my surface. But, when this sphere is
larger than the atom the net electric charge inside of it is zero. Therefore the electric field outside the atom is zero
Between the nucleus and the electron shell I can still apply Gauss’s law in the same way except that the charge within
the sphere is not zero. The electric field will point radially outward with have magnitude:
𝑞𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑒 𝑒
∮ 𝐸⃗ ⋅ 𝑑𝐴 = ⟹ 𝐸(4𝜋𝑟 2 ) = ⟹ 𝐸 =
𝜀0 𝜀0 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2
Within the nucleus I can still apply Gauss’s law in the same way but the amount of charge within the sphere will depend
on the radius of the sphere. The fraction of the total charge of the nucleus that will be within the sphere is equal to the
fraction of the volume of the nucleus that is within the sphere. The electric field will point radially outward and have
magnitude:
𝑞𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 1 (4⁄3)𝜋𝑟 3 𝑒𝑟
∮ 𝐸⃗ ⋅ 𝑑𝐴 = ⟹ 𝐸 (4𝜋𝑟 2 ) = [ 3 𝑒] ⟹ 𝐸 =
𝜀0 𝜀0 (4⁄3)𝜋𝑟0 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟03
So, the magnitude increases linearly from zero at the center out to the edge of the nucleus, then falls off as if the
nucleus were a point charge until it reaches the electron shell where it abruptly drops to zero.
10. During a particle physics experiment, a proton and an
antiproton are produced. The antiproton is an example of
an exotic form of matter known as antimatter. What is
important about it for the purpose of this problem is that
the antiproton has the same mass as the proton, but has
electric charge −𝑒. When the two particles are produced
they are 1.35 × 10−15 𝑚 apart and are moving away from
each other in opposite directions, each at a speed of
1.00 × 107 𝑚⁄𝑠.
a. Determine the value of the electric potential field at
point A the moment the particles are produced. Point A
is halfway between the particles.
b. Determine the maximum distance apart the particles reach.
c. Determine the value of the electric potential field at point B the moment the particles are the maximum
distance apart.
d. Because the proton and antiproton have opposite electric charge they will attract each other and eventually
collide a certain time interval after they were produced. Explain why it would be difficult to estimate the time it
will take before the proton and antiproton collide with each other.
Part a. I’ll need to use the principle of superposition since the V-field is contributed to by both the proton and
antiproton.
𝑉@𝐴 = 𝑉𝑝+ @𝐴 + 𝑉𝑝− @𝐴
𝑞𝑝+ 𝑞𝑝−
𝑉@𝐴 = 𝑘 +𝑘
𝑟𝑝+ 𝑟𝑝−
1
However, since 𝑞𝑝+ = +𝑒 and 𝑞𝑝− = −𝑒, and 𝑟𝑝+ = 𝑟𝑝− = (2) (1.35 × 10−15 𝑚), the two contributions to the V-field
will add to zero.
𝑉@𝐴 = 0
Part b. I’ll use energy conservation with the system as the proton and antiproton. Initially they will have kinetic energy
and electric potential energy. When they are the maximum distance apart they will momentarily be at rest so the energy
of the system will be all electric potential energy. The environment isn’t exerting any forces on the system, so the energy
of the system is constant.
𝐾𝑖 + 𝑈𝑞,𝑖 = 𝑈𝑞,𝑓
1 𝑞𝑝+ 𝑞𝑝− 𝑞𝑝+ 𝑞𝑝−
2 ( 𝑚𝑣𝑖2 ) + 𝑘 =𝑘
2 𝑟𝑖 𝑟𝑓
(+𝑒)(−𝑒) (+𝑒)(−𝑒)
𝑚𝑣𝑖2 + 𝑘 =𝑘
𝑟𝑖 𝑟𝑓
𝑒2 𝑒2
𝑚𝑣𝑖2 − 𝑘 = −𝑘
𝑟𝑖 𝑟𝑓
𝑒2 𝑒2
𝑘 = −𝑚𝑣𝑖2 + 𝑘
𝑟𝑓 𝑟𝑖
1 𝑚𝑣𝑖2 1
=− 2 +
𝑟𝑓 𝑘𝑒 𝑟𝑖
−1
𝑚𝑣 2 1
𝑟𝑓 = (− 2𝑖 + )
𝑘𝑒 𝑟𝑖
 −1
(1.67 × 10−27 𝑘𝑔)(1.00 × 107 𝑚⁄𝑠)2 1
𝑟𝑓 = (− 9 2 2 −19 2 + ) = 6.56 × 10−14 𝑚
(8.99 × 10 𝑁𝑚 ⁄𝐶 )(1.6 × 10 𝐶) 1.35 × 10−15 𝑚
Part c. 𝑉@𝐵 = 0 for exactly the same reasons as in part a.
Part d. It would be difficult to determine how much time will pass before the two particles collide since their
acceleration is not constant. This is a result of the electric force they exert on each other being strongly distance
dependent. This means kinematics can’t easily be used to describe their motion.