If you place a free electron and a free proton in the same electric field, how do the forces acting on them compare? How do their accelerations compare? Their directions of travel?
My answer: Direction of travel: The proton and electron would move towards each other, as the electron carries a negative charge, the proton a positive charge, and opposite charges attract.
How forces compare: I would assume the forces would be the same, since forces that act upon each other are equal.
But I am not sure about how their accelerations compare. How do they compare, and are my other two answers correct?
The movement answer is wrong. They will move in opposite directions, the proton will go in the direction of the E field, and the electron in the opposite direction.
Forces are the same F=Eq
Acceleration= F/mass
themass of the electron is much lower, so it accelerates greatest.
Thanks! That made sense. I had read about the electric field, but had not really understood it. Much appreciated. Mary
What about magnitude of accleration
Equal in magnitude
Your answer regarding the direction of travel is correct. The electron and the proton would move towards each other because opposite charges attract each other.
Regarding the comparison of forces, the forces acting on the electron and the proton would indeed be the same. According to Coulomb's law, the magnitude of the force between two charges is given by:
F = k * |Q1 * Q2| / r^2
Where F is the force, k is the electrostatic constant, Q1 and Q2 are the charges, and r is the distance between the charges. In this case, both the electron and the proton have elementary charges of the same magnitude but opposite signs. Therefore, the forces acting on them would be equal.
As for the comparison of accelerations, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. Since the forces acting on the electron and proton are equal, and their masses are different, their accelerations would be different. The proton has a much greater mass than the electron, so it would accelerate less compared to the electron when subjected to the same force.
To summarize:
- The direction of travel would be towards each other.
- The forces acting on the electron and proton would be the same, as opposite charges attract each other.
- The electron's acceleration would be greater than the proton's, due to the electron's smaller mass.