Six identical point charges are to be placed at the vertices of a regular hexagon of side

PHYSICS · Single correct · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

Six identical point charges

+q

are to be placed at the vertices of a regular hexagon of side

a

. Before the last charge is fixed, one vertex is left empty and a charge

+q

is kept at the centre of the hexagon. What is the magnitude of the net force on the central charge? (a)

0

(b)

\sqrt{3}\,\dfrac{k q^{2}}{a^{2}}

(c)

\dfrac{k q^{2}}{a^{2}}

(d)

\dfrac{4}{3}\,\dfrac{k q^{2}}{a^{2}}