Which statement accurately describes Coulomb's Law?

Which statement accurately describes Coulomb's Law?

• A. Electric force is independent of distance.
• B. Electric force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and to the distance.
• C. Electric force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.
• D. Electric force is inversely proportional to the distance and to the sum of the charges.

Answer: (D)

Coulomb's Law describes how the electric force between two point charges depends on the sizes of the charges and how far apart they are. The force increases as the charges get larger and decreases as the separation grows, specifically with the inverse square of the distance between them. In plain terms, doubling one charge doubles the force, and doubling the separation reduces the force to one quarter. The exact magnitude is F = k |q1 q2| / r^2, where k is a constant, and the force points along the line connecting the two charges: it repels if the charges have the same sign and attracts if they have opposite signs. This means the correct understanding is that the force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Statements claiming independence from distance, a direct proportionality to distance, or dependence on the sum of the charges do not describe Coulomb's Law.

Coulomb's Law describes how the electric force between two point charges depends on the sizes of the charges and how far apart they are. The force increases as the charges get larger and decreases as the separation grows, specifically with the inverse square of the distance between them. In plain terms, doubling one charge doubles the force, and doubling the separation reduces the force to one quarter. The exact magnitude is F = k |q1 q2| / r^2, where k is a constant, and the force points along the line connecting the two charges: it repels if the charges have the same sign and attracts if they have opposite signs. This means the correct understanding is that the force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Statements claiming independence from distance, a direct proportionality to distance, or dependence on the sum of the charges do not describe Coulomb's Law.