Question

How does one coulomb charge compare to the charge of a single electron?

Answer 1

Hint: Unit of charge represents the magnitude present on a body. The presence or absence of electrons on a body determines the amount of charge on it. We can compare one coulomb charge with the charge of an electron by taking the ratio of one coulomb and charge on the electron.

 Complete answer:
Charge is the property of matter by virtue of which it experiences force in an electric field. Charge of a body can be expressed in coulomb ($C$), it is the SI unit of charge. The presence or absence of electrons in a body determines the charge of that body. If the electrons are in excess, a body will have negative charge otherwise it will have positive charge.
A body which has equal positive and negative charges have total charge zero.
We know that the magnitude of charge on an electron is,
$e=1.6\times {{10}^{-19}}C$
Number of electrons required to make 1C charge will be-
$\begin{align}
  & n=\dfrac{1}{1.6\times {{10}^{-19}}} \\
 & \Rightarrow n=6.25\times {{10}^{18}} \\
\end{align}$
Therefore, we require $6.25\times {{10}^{18}}$ electrons to make 1C charge. We can say that compared to the charge on an electron, 1C is $\dfrac{1}{6.25\times {{10}^{18}}}$ times the charge of an electron.
Therefore, 1C coulomb charge is $\dfrac{1}{6.25\times {{10}^{18}}}$ times the charge present on an electron.

 Note:
A neutral body has equal positive and negative charges which cancel each other and therefore, the total charge is zero. Electrons are the smallest charge which can exist freely. Other units to measure charge are emu, esu etc. One coulomb is the charge that flows through a body when the current flowing between two points is one ampere in one second.