What happens to the electrostatic force as the distance between two point charges increases?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking about the relationship between the electrostatic force and the distance between two point charges, particularly how the force changes as the distance increases.
Answer
The electrostatic force decreases as distance increases.
The electrostatic force decreases as the distance between two point charges increases.
Answer for screen readers
The electrostatic force decreases as the distance between two point charges increases.
More Information
According to Coulomb's Law, the electrostatic force between two point charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that as the distance increases, the force decreases rapidly.
Tips
Be careful not to misinterpret the inverse square relationship as linear; doubling the distance results in the force being reduced to a quarter, not half.
Sources
- Physics Tutorial: Coulomb's Law - physicsclassroom.com
- Coulomb's law and electric force review (article) - Khan Academy - khanacademy.org
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