Electric Charge Homework Help
Electric charge:
An atom can lose or gain an electron from its outer most orbits. These electrons in the outer most
Orbit joins the atom. If an atom looses an electron, it becomes negatively charged.
If an atom gains the electron it becomes positively charged. This loss or gain of electron makes
the atom to become electrically charged.
Electric charge:
The intrinsic property of protons and electrons is electric charge two type of charges
o With respect to the magnitude, the charge of the proton is equal to
the charge of electron.
o In an isolated system, charges are always conserved.
Since the electrified state occurs only due to the transfer of charges from one
Object to the other.

E.g.: glass rod rubbed with silk.
When a glass rod is rubbed with silk, Glass rod obtains positive charge and silk obtains negative
charge While rubbing the rod with silk electrons are transferred from glass rod to silk.
Charges are quantized they exists as discrete ‘packets’.
I.e. q=Ne, N-Integers.
- Like charges repel each other
- unlike charges attract each other
unit of charge is denoted by e : e = 1.602 x 10- 19 Coulombs (C)


