Expert Solutions

There are 5 equal charges. 4 of those charges are placed at each corner of a square & 1 is placed in the middle.

· What will be the force value in the middle of the square? a) More than the force at the corners or b) less than the force at the corners Value of the force in the middle:______________________

Since all of the charges are equal, the force between the charge in the

middle and the charges at the corners will be a force of repulsion.

Since the arrangement is a square, the net force on the charge at the

middle of the square will be zero. (This is because there will be two pairs

of equal and opposite forces. The two forces in each pair cancel each

other out.)

The force on the charge in the middle will be less than the force on the

charge at each corner. Each of the corner charges will have a net force directed away from the center of the square. Since the charge on the middle charge is 0, it will be less than the force on the corner charges.

· What happens to the force in the middle, if one of the charges at the corner is lost? a) Increase or b) decrease

If one of the corner charges is lost, the force on the charge in the middle

will increase. There will be a net repulsion directed toward the corner where the missing charge was previously located.

· What happens to the force in the middle, if the two opposite diagonal charges disappear?

There will be no change on the net force seen by the charge in the middle. The forces due to the two remaining corner charges will still cancel each

other out, leaving a net force of 0 on the middle charge.