Two charges originally separated by a certain distance are moved farther apart until the force between them has decreased by a factor of 10. (a) Is the new distance (1) less than 10, (2) equal to 10, or (3) greater than 10 times the original distance? Why?

New distance is less than 10.

Explanation:

The force acting between two charges is given by :

k is the electrostatic constant

d is the distance between charges

If two charges originally separated by a certain distance are moved farther apart until the force between them has decreased by a factor of 10,  

New force is given by :

So, the new distance is times the original distance i.e. the new distance is less than 10 times the original distance. Hence, the correct option is (1).

a. are