Mission SE9 Coulomb's Law Calculations

(Numbers are randomly selected and may differ from those listed above.)

The electrical force exerted between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of the quantity of charge on the objects (Q1 and Q2) and inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance (d) between the two objects. In equation form:
where k is the constant of proportionality known as the Coulomb's law constant. The value of k is 9.0x109N•m2/ C2.


Coulomb's law equation (stated in the Know the Law section) can be used to calculate the electrical force between objects X and Y. Substitute known values of k, Q1 and Q2 (in units of Coulombs or C) and d (in units of meters or m) into the equation and solve for the electrical force.