Curriculum
Science — First Preparatory
Unit 1: Matter
0/8
Unit 2: Forces
0/6
Unit 3: Life
0/6
Unit 4: Earth and Space
0/4
Text lesson
Electric Forces
Electric Forces
Electric charges and the rules of attraction and repulsion
Electric charges and the rules of attraction and repulsion
There are two kinds of electric charge→positive and negative. The charge of an object depends on the number of extra or missing electrons in it, because protons and electrons have equal magnitudes of charge and opposite signs.
- Like charges repel each other.
- Unlike charges attract each other.
- A neutral object (equal numbers of protons and electrons) carries no net charge, but a charged object can still attract it by induction, as explained below.
- The unit of electric charge is the coulomb (C). The charge of one electron is about 1.6 × 10−19 C.
- The total charge of an object can be calculated from:
- Total charge Q = number of extra or missing electrons × 1.6 × 10−19
Electric Forces · 1 / 6