If two objects have opposite charges, they will be drawn toward each other.

• A. Repel
• B. Attract
• C. Neutralize
• D. Induce

Answer: (B)

Opposite charges attract each other. When two objects carry charges with opposite signs, the electric force between them pulls them toward one another. This follows Coulomb’s law, which says the force magnitude grows as the charges are larger and as they get closer, and the direction is along the line joining the charges toward the other charge when the signs are opposite. Because the force acts to decrease the distance between them, the objects are drawn together.

If you think in terms of field lines, positive charges send field lines outward and negative charges pull them inward; the lines connect the two opposite charges, indicating an attractive force. The idea of neutralizing applies to removing charges or making a system neutral, not to the basic motion of two opposite charges toward each other. Induction refers to a neutral object becoming polarized in an external field, which isn’t the direct interaction described here.