IN CLASS PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

Problems:
• 21-3 • 21-35
• 21-6 • 21-38
• 21-10 • 21-62
• 21-13 • 22-8
• 21-14 • 22-9
• 21-17 • 22-10
• 21-21 • 22-11
• 21-24 • 22-16
• 21-28 • 22-52
• 21-34 • 22-54

21-3. What must be the distance between point charge q1 = 26.0 µC and point charge q2 = −47.0 µC for the
electrostatic force between them to have a magnitude of 5.70 N?

21-6. Two equally charged particles are held 3.2 × 10−3 m apart and then released from rest. The initial
acceleration of the first particle is observed to be 7.0 m/s2 and that of the second to be 9.0 m/s2 . If the
mass of the first particle is 6.3 × 10−7 kg, what are (a) the mass of the second particle and (b) the
magnitude of the charge of each particle?

21-10. In the figure below, four particles form a square. The charges are q1 = q4 = Q and q2 = q3 = q. (a) What
is Q/q if the net electrostatic force on particles 1 and 4 is zero? (b) Is there any value of q that makes
the net electrostatic force on each of the four particles zero? Explain.
21-13. In the figure below, particle 1 of charge +1.0 µC and particle 2 of charge −3.0 µC are held at separation
L = 10.0 cm on an x axis. If particle 3 of unknown charge q3 is to be located such that the net electrostatic force
on it from particles 1 and 2 is zero, what must be the (a) x and (b) y coordinates of particle 3?

21-14. Three particles are fixed on an x axis. Particle 1 of charge q1 is at x = −a, and particle 2 of charge q2 is at
x = +a. If their net electrostatic force on particle 3 of charge +Q is to be zero, what must be the ratio q1 /q2
when particle 3 is at (a) x = +0.500a and (b) x = +1.50a?

21-17. In figure (a) below, particles 1 and 2 have charge 20.0 µC each and are held at separation distance d = 1.50 m.
(a) What is the magnitude of the electrostatic force on particle 1 due to particle 2? In figure (b) below, particle 3
of charge 20.0 µC is positioned so as to complete an equilateral triangle. (b) What is the magnitude of the net
electrostatic force on particle 1 due to particles 2 and 3?

21-21. A nonconducting spherical shell, with an inner radius of 4.0 cm and an outer radius of 6.0 cm, has charge spread
nonuniformly through its volume between its inner and outer surfaces. The volume charge density ρ is the charge
per unit volume, with the unit coulomb per cubic meter. For this shell ρ = b/r, where r is the distance in meters
from the center of the shell and b = 3.0 µC/m2 . What is the net charge in the shell?
Hint (as would be provided on the test): For a spherically symmetric chargeRdistribution with charge density ρ(r),
r
the total charge contained within a radius r can be expressed by: Q(r) = 4π 0 ρ(r0 )r02 dr0
21-24. Two tiny, spherical water drops, with identical charges of −1.00 × 10−16 C, have a centre-to-centre separation of
1.00 cm. (a) What is the magnitude of the electrostatic force acting between them? (b) How many excess
electrons are on each drop, giving it its charge imbalance?

21-28. A current of 0.300 A through your chest can send your heart into fibrillation, ruining the normal rhythm of
heartbeat and disrupting the flow of blood (and thus oxygen) to your brain. If that current persists for 2.00 min,
how many conduction electrons pass through your chest?

21-34. The figure below shows electrons 1 and 2 on an x axis and charged ions 3 and 4 of identical charge −q and at
identical angles θ. Electron 2 is free to move; the other three particles are fixed in place at horizontal distances R
from electron 2 and are intended to hold electron 2 in place. For physically possible values of q ≤ 5e, what are the
(a) smallest, (b) second smallest, and (c) third smallest values of θ for which electron 2 is held in place?

21-35. In crystals of the salt cesium chloride, cesium ions Cs+ form the eight corners of a cube and a chlorine ion Cl− is
at the cube’s center (figure below). The edge length of the cube is 0.40 nm. The Cs+ ions are each deficient by
one electron (and thus each has a charge of +e), and the Cl− ion has one excess electron (and thus has a charge
of −e). (a) What is the magnitude of the net electrostatic force exerted on the Cl− ion by the eight Cs+ ions at
the corners of the cube? (b) If one of the Cs+ ions is missing, the crystal is said to have a defect; what is the
magnitude of the net electrostatic force exerted on the Cl− ion by the seven remaining Cs+ ions?
21-38. Figure 21-36 shows four identical conducting spheres that are actually well separated from one another. Sphere
W (with and initial charge of zero) is touched to sphere A and then they are separated. Next, sphere W is
touched to sphere B (with an initial charge of −32e) and then they are separated. Finally, sphere W is touched
to sphere C (with an initial charge of +48e), and then they are separated. The final charge on sphere W is +18e.
What was the initial charge on sphere A?

21-62. In the figure below, what are the (a) magnitude and (b) direction of the net electrostatic force on particle 4 due
to the other three particles? All four particles are fixed in the xy plane, and q1 = −3.20 × 10−19 C,
q2 = +3.20 × 10−19 C, q3 = +6.40 × 10−19 C, q4 = +3.20 × 10−19 C, θ1 = 35.0◦ , d1 = 3.00 cm, and d2 = d3 = 2.00
cm.

22-8. As shown in the figure, four particles are fixed in place and have charges q1 = q2 = +5e, q3 = +3e, and
q4 = −12e. Distance d = 5.0 µm. What is the magnitude of the net electric field at point P due to the particles?
22-9. The figure below shows two charged particles on the x−axis: −q = −3.20 × 10−19 C at x = −3.00 m and
q = 3.20 × 10−19 C at x = +3.00 m. What are the (a) magnitude and (b) direction (relative to the positive
direction of the x-axis) of the net electric field produced at point P at y = 4.00 m?

22-10. Part (a) of the figure below shows two charged particles fixed in place on the x axis with separation L. The ratio
q1 /q2 of their charge magnitudes is 4.00. Part (b) of the figure below shows the x component Enet,x of their net
electric field along the x axis just to the right of particle 2. The x axis scale is set by xs = 30.0 cm. (a) At what
value of x > 0 is Enet,x maximum? (b) If particle 2 has charge −q2 = −3e, what is the value of that maximum?

22-11. Two particles are fixed to an x-axis: particle 1 of charge q1 = 2.1 × 10−8 C at x = 20 cm and particle 2 of charge
q2 = −4.00q1 at x = 70 cm. At what coordinate on the axis is the net electric field produced by the particles
equal to zero?
22-16. The figure below shows a plastic ring of radius R = 50.0 cm. Two small charged beads are on the ring: Bead 1 of
charge +2.00 µC is fixed in place at the left side; Bead 2 of charge +6.00 µC can be moved along the ring. The
two beads produce a net electric field of magnitude E at the center of the rind. At what (a) positive and (b)
negative value of angle θ should Bead 2 be positioned such that E = 2.00 × 105 N/C?

22-52. An electron enters a region of uniform electric field with an initial velocity of 40 km/s in the same direction as the
electric field, which has magnitude E = 50 N/C.
a) What is the speed of the electron 1.5 ns after entering this region?
b) How far does the electron travel during the 1.5 ns interval?

22-54. As shown in the figure below, an electron is shot at an initial speed of v0 = 2.00 × 106 m/s, at angle θ0 = 40.0◦
from an x axis. It moves through a uniform electric field E~ = (5.00 N/C)ĵ. A screen for detecting electrons is
positioned parallel to the y axis, at distance x = 3.00 m. In unit-vector notation, what is the velocity of the
electron when it hits the screen?