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NEET Physics: Coulomb's law forces between two point charges Practice Questions

15 free multiple-choice questions on Coulomb's law forces between two point charges (Electrostatics) for NEET Physics, each with the correct answer and a step-by-step explanation. Attempt a question, then reveal the solution to check your reasoning.

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  1. Q1. If two point charges have opposite signs, what type of force do they exert on each other?

    • AZero force
    • BNeither attractive nor repulsive
    • CRepulsive force
    • DAttractive force
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: D — Attractive force

    Charges having opposite signs (one positive and one negative) always exert an attractive force on each other.

  2. Q2. Coulomb's Law describes the force between two point charges. This force is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the:

    • AMagnitude of the smaller charge
    • BDirection of the force
    • CCharge product
    • DDistance
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: D — Distance

    Coulomb's Law is F = k (|q₁ q₂|)/r². It is directly proportional to the product of the charges (q₁ q₂) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r²).

  3. Q3. The magnitude of the electrostatic force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges. This statement implies that the force is proportional to:

    • AThe product of the distances between the charges
    • BThe inverse of the distance
    • CThe ratio of the charges
    • DThe product of the charges
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: D — The product of the charges

    Coulomb's Law states that F ∝ q₁ q₂. Therefore, the force is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges (q₁ q₂).

  4. Q4. The electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This relationship is described by:

    • AF ∝ 1 / (q₁ q₂ d)
    • BF ∝ q₁ q₂ / d²
    • CF ∝ q₁ q₂ d
    • DF ∝ q₁ / d²
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: B — F ∝ q₁ q₂ / d²

    Coulomb's law states that the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges (q₁ q₂) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r²) separating them. Thus, F ∝ q₁ q₂ / r².

  5. Q5. The force of attraction or repulsion between two charges depends on the nature of the charges. If one charge is positive and the other is negative, the force between them will be:

    • ARepulsive
    • BIndependent of distance
    • CAttractive
    • DZero
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: C — Attractive

    Opposite charges (one positive and one negative) always exert an attractive force on each other.

  6. Q6. If the charges are fixed and the distance between them is halved, the electrostatic force between them will be:

    • AEight times
    • BHalved
    • CDoubled
    • DFour times
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: A — Eight times

    Since the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (F ∝ 1/r²), if the distance r is halved (r/2), the new force F' = k (q₁ q₂)/((r/2)²) = k (q₁ q₂)/(r²/4) = 4 ( k (q₁ q₂)/r² ) = 4F.

  7. Q7. Coulomb's law describes the interaction force between charges. If two charges have opposite signs, the force exerted between them is:

    • AZero
    • BNeutral
    • CRepulsive
    • DAttractive
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: D — Attractive

    Charges with opposite signs (one positive and one negative) exert an attractive force on each other according to Coulomb's law.

  8. Q8. Two point charges, q₁ and q₂, separated by a distance r, exert a force on each other. This force is directly proportional to:

    • AThe inverse square of the distance between them
    • BThe product of the charges only
    • CThe distance between them
    • DThe square of the distance between them
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: A — The inverse square of the distance between them

    According to Coulomb's law, the force between two charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them (F ∝ 1/r²).

  9. Q9. What is the nature of the force of interaction between two charges if they have the same sign?

    • ANeutral
    • BRepulsive
    • CAttractive
    • DZero
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: C — Attractive

    When two charges have the same sign (both positive or both negative), they exert an attractive force on each other.

  10. Q10. The electrostatic force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges. If the magnitude of one charge is tripled while the other remains unchanged, the force between them will:

    • Abe halved
    • Bbe nine times
    • Cbe tripled
    • Dremain the same
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: C — be tripled

    Coulomb's law states that the force F is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges (F ∝ q₁ q₂). If q₁ is tripled and q₂ is unchanged, the force F will also be tripled.

  11. Q11. If the magnitude of one of the charges in Coulomb's law is doubled while keeping the other charge and the distance constant, the electrostatic force will:

    • ABe quadrupled
    • BRemain the same
    • CBe halved
    • DBe doubled
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: D — Be doubled

    Since the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges (F ∝ q₁ q₂), doubling the charge results in doubling the force.

  12. Q12. If the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two charges is F, and the charges are separated by a distance r, what is the mathematical expression for the magnitude of the force in terms of the charges and distance?

    • AF = k q₁ q₂ r²
    • BF = k (q₁ q₂)/r³
    • CF = k (q₁ q₂)/r²
    • DF = k (q₁ q₂)/r
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: C — F = k (q₁ q₂)/r²

    Coulomb's law states that the force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them: F = k (|q₁ q₂|)/r².

  13. Q13. Two point charges q₁ and q₂ are separated by a distance r. If the distance between them is doubled while the charges remain constant, the new electrostatic force between them will be:

    • Adoubled
    • Bhalved
    • Cquadrupled
    • Dincreased by 4
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: B — halved

    According to Coulomb's law, the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (F ∝ 1/r²). If the distance r is doubled (2r), the new force F' will be F' = k (q₁ q₂)/((2r)²) = k (q₁ q₂)/4r² = F/4. The force will be halved.

  14. Q14. Coulomb's law states that the force between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance. If the charges are q₁ and q₂ separated by r, the magnitude of the force is given by:

    • AF = k q₁ q₂ r²
    • BF = k q₁ q₂ / r²
    • CF = k q₁ q₂ r
    • DF = k q₁ q₂ / r
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: B — F = k q₁ q₂ / r²

    The mathematical expression for the electrostatic force according to Coulomb's law is F = k (|q₁ q₂|)/r².

  15. Q15. Two charges placed in empty space exert a repulsive force on each other. What must be the relationship between the charges for this force to exist?

    • AThe charges must be zero
    • BThe charges must have the same sign
    • CThe charges must be moving
    • DThe charges must have opposite signs
    Show answer & explanation

    Correct answer: D — The charges must have opposite signs

    According to Coulomb's law, if the charges have opposite signs (one positive and one negative), the force exerted between them is repulsive. If they have the same sign, the force is attractive.

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