To find the force on the test charge, we need to calculate the individual forces exerted by each charge and then sum them up.
Step 1: Determine the distance between the test charge and each of the other charges.
- Test charge to the +1 x 10^-6 C charge: 5 cm (to the right)
- Test charge to the -1 x 10^-6 C charge: 10 cm (to the left)
Step 2: Calculate the force between the test charge and each of the other charges using Coulomb's Law:
The force between two charges can be calculated using the formula:
F = k * (|q1| * |q2|) / r^2
where:
F = Force between the charges
k = Coulomb's constant = 9 x 10^9 Nm^2/C^2
q1, q2 = Magnitudes of the charges
r = Distance between the charges
Using this formula, we can calculate the individual forces:
Force exerted by the +1 x 10^-6 C charge:
F1 = k * |(+2 x 10^-7 C)| * |(+1 x 10^-6 C)| / (0.05 m)^2
Force exerted by the -1 x 10^-6 C charge:
F2 = k * |(+2 x 10^-7 C)| * |(-1 x 10^-6 C)| / (0.10 m)^2
Step 3: Calculate the net force on the test charge:
The net force is the vector sum of the forces exerted by each charge.
Since the charges are arranged in a straight line, the forces are in opposite directions. Therefore, the net force is the difference between the magnitudes of the two individual forces:
Net Force = |F1| - |F2|
Substituting the values and using the equation above, we can calculate the net force on the test charge.