3. how much equal charge should be placed on earth and the moon so that the electrical repulsion balances…

3. how much equal charge should be placed on earth and the moon so that the electrical repulsion balances the gravitational force of 1.98 x 10^20 n? treat earth and the moon as point charges a distance 3.84 x 10^8 m apart.

3. how much equal charge should be placed on earth and the moon so that the electrical repulsion balances the gravitational force of 1.98 x 10^20 n? treat earth and the moon as point charges a distance 3.84 x 10^8 m apart.

Answer

Explanation:

Step1: Write Coulomb's law and gravitational - force condition

Let the charge on Earth and the Moon be $q_1 = q_2=q$. Coulomb's law is $F_e=k\frac{q_1q_2}{r^2}$, and we want $F_e = F_g$. So $F_g=k\frac{q^2}{r^2}$, where $k = 9\times10^{9}\ N\cdot m^{2}/C^{2}$, $F_g=1.98\times 10^{20}\ N$, and $r = 3.84\times 10^{8}\ m$.

Step2: Solve for $q$

Rearrange the equation $F_g=k\frac{q^2}{r^2}$ to get $q^2=\frac{F_g r^2}{k}$. Then $q=\sqrt{\frac{F_g r^2}{k}}$. Substitute the given values: [ \begin{align*} q&=\sqrt{\frac{1.98\times 10^{20}\times(3.84\times 10^{8})^2}{9\times 10^{9}}}\ &=\sqrt{\frac{1.98\times 10^{20}\times14.7456\times 10^{16}}{9\times 10^{9}}}\ &=\sqrt{\frac{1.98\times14.7456\times 10^{20 + 16}}{9\times 10^{9}}}\ &=\sqrt{\frac{29.296288\times 10^{36}}{9\times 10^{9}}}\ &=\sqrt{3.255143111\times 10^{27}}\ &=\sqrt{32.55143111\times 10^{26}}\ &\approx5.7\times 10^{13}\ C \end{align*} ]

Answer:

$5.7\times 10^{13}\ C$