Question

A charge of 8.5 × 10–6 C is in an electric field that has a strength of 3.2 × 105 N/C. What is the electric force acting on the charge?

0.27 N
2.7 N
27 N
270 N

Answer 1

The electric force \( F \) acting on a charge \( q \) in an electric field \( E \) can be calculated using the formula:

\[
F = qE
\]

where:
- \( F \) is the electric force,
- \( q \) is the charge, and
- \( E \) is the electric field strength.

Given:
- \( q = 8.5 \times 10^{-6} \, \text{C} \)
- \( E = 3.2 \times 10^{5} \, \text{N/C} \)

Substituting in the values:

\[
F = (8.5 \times 10^{-6} \, \text{C}) \times (3.2 \times 10^{5} \, \text{N/C})
\]

Calculating that:

\[
F = 8.5 \times 3.2 \times 10^{-6 + 5} \, \text{N}
\]

\[
F = 27.2 \times 10^{-1} \, \text{N}
\]

\[
F = 2.72 \, \text{N}
\]

Thus, the electric force acting on the charge is approximately **2.7 N**.

So the correct answer is **2.7 N**.