What happens when two positively charged particles are placed next to each other?

What happens when two positively charged particles are placed next to each other?

• A. The charges will attract
• B. The charges will repel
• C. They will cancel each other
• D. One will move toward negative charge

Answer: (B)

Two positively charged particles push each other away. This happens because charges interact via Coulomb’s law: the force between two charges is proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, and it acts along the line joining the charges. Since both charges are positive, the product q1 q2 is positive, so the force on each charge points away from the other charge. That push-apart behavior is what we mean by repulsion. There’s no attraction here because opposite signs are required for attraction; they don’t cancel each other in a simple two-charge setup—the charges simply create a combined electric field and potential energy that favors increasing separation. The statement about moving toward a negative charge would require an external negative charge nearby to pull them, which isn’t present in this scenario.

Two positively charged particles push each other away. This happens because charges interact via Coulomb’s law: the force between two charges is proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, and it acts along the line joining the charges. Since both charges are positive, the product q1 q2 is positive, so the force on each charge points away from the other charge. That push-apart behavior is what we mean by repulsion.

There’s no attraction here because opposite signs are required for attraction; they don’t cancel each other in a simple two-charge setup—the charges simply create a combined electric field and potential energy that favors increasing separation. The statement about moving toward a negative charge would require an external negative charge nearby to pull them, which isn’t present in this scenario.