Which statement best describes charge interaction?

Which statement best describes charge interaction?

• A. Like charges attract; opposite charges repel.
• B. Opposite charges attract; like charges repel.
• C. Charges do not interact.
• D. Only electrons interact.

Answer: (B)

Charges interact through electrostatic forces: opposite charges attract and like charges repel. This is described by Coulomb’s law, which says the force scales with the product of the charges and decreases with distance, and the sign of the charges determines attraction versus repulsion. So, a positively charged object pulls on a negatively charged one, while two objects with the same charge push away from each other. A common example is a rubbed balloon on hair: the balloon gains extra electrons and becomes negatively charged, while the hair becomes positively charged, leading to attraction between them. The other ideas don’t fit because charges do interact, and the interaction isn’t limited to electrons or described as only attracting or only repelling in the wrong cases.

Charges interact through electrostatic forces: opposite charges attract and like charges repel. This is described by Coulomb’s law, which says the force scales with the product of the charges and decreases with distance, and the sign of the charges determines attraction versus repulsion. So, a positively charged object pulls on a negatively charged one, while two objects with the same charge push away from each other. A common example is a rubbed balloon on hair: the balloon gains extra electrons and becomes negatively charged, while the hair becomes positively charged, leading to attraction between them. The other ideas don’t fit because charges do interact, and the interaction isn’t limited to electrons or described as only attracting or only repelling in the wrong cases.