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Two like (similarly signed) charges are moved farther apart. What happens to the electric potential energy of the two-charge system?
- increases
- decreases
- remains the same
- may increase or decrease
Correct answer: may increase or decrease
Solution
U = k q1 q2 / r. As r increases, |U| decreases toward zero in both cases. For like charges (U > 0) the value decreases. For unlike charges (U < 0) the value increases (becomes less negative). Since the question does not fix the sign of the charges, the potential energy may either increase or decrease depending on whether the charges are like or unlike.
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