Interaction Potential Energy

[Amina Durrani 3G]

Can someone explain what the equation for interaction potential energy is and it’s significance?

[Ethan Lam 4A]

Interaction potential energy= kq1q2/r

This equation is important for finding the energy between two molecules.

[Adam Kramer 1A]

Lavelle mentioned that the potential energy is proportional to -q1q2/r^6, when q is the polarizability of an atom (dependent on the number of electrons and the size of the atom), and r is the distance between the atoms or molecules. I think this measures how strong the energy is that is pulling the two atoms or molecules together; they get stronger as the size of the molecule or atoms increases because there is stronger pull from the nucleus, but it decreases with distance because the pull is weaker the further away the two molecules are.

[DHavo_1E]

Lavelle mentioned that the potential energy is proportional to -q1q2/r^6, when q is the polarizability of an atom (dependent on the number of electrons and the size of the atom), and r is the distance between the atoms or molecules. I think this measures how strong the energy is that is pulling the two atoms or molecules together; they get stronger as the size of the molecule or atoms increases because there is stronger pull from the nucleus, but it decreases with distance because the pull is weaker the further away the two molecules are.

Hi!
Could you also explain the significance of the negative sign in the equation? Thank you :)

[Adam Kramer 1A]

The negative sign is because the energy is always negative, pulling the two masses together, I believe.

[Aarushi Solanki 4F]

Interaction potential energy relies on the charges of the two molecules and the distance between them. As distance increases, potential energy decreases. As charges of the molecules increase, potential energy also increases. This can be seen by the relationships in the equation.