Question Detail
Question
Which of the following is correct about Coulomb's law?
I. The bodies were small compared to the distance between them.
II. The force, F (of attraction or repulsion) was directly proportional to the product of the two charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
III. The bodies were appreciably large compared to the distance between the bodies.
I. The bodies were small compared to the distance between them.
II. The force, F (of attraction or repulsion) was directly proportional to the product of the two charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
III. The bodies were appreciably large compared to the distance between the bodies.
Correct Answer
Option A is the correct answer.
Detailed Explanation
Coulomb's Law applies to point charges, meaning the charges are idealized as having no spatial extent, or their physical dimensions are much smaller than the distance separating them. Statement I correctly describes this condition. Statement II is the fundamental statement of Coulomb's Law, describing how the electrostatic force depends on the magnitude of the charges and the distance between them. Statement III contradicts statement I, as Coulomb's law is typically not applied directly to large bodies unless approximated as point charges.
Hint
Consider the idealization of charges for which Coulomb's Law is formulated, and the mathematical expression of the law itself.