Question

The additive nature of charge can be explained by the
A. Law of conservation of electric charge
B. Law of quantization of electric charge
C. Law of superposition of electric charge
D. None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Recall the properties of electric charge. The electric charge is the scalar quantity.
The law of quantization of charge is also known as the discrete nature of electric charge.

Complete answer:
To answer this question, let’s discuss the properties of electric charge.
The electric charge is a scalar quantity. We cannot define its specific direction since it moves when there is potential difference between the two points in which the charge is placed.
The law of conservation of charge states that the total charge in an isolated system remains constant. There are an equal number of positive and negative charges in the universe and the balance is never lost. This does not explain the additive nature of the charge. Therefore, the option (A) is incorrect.
The law of quantization of charge states that the charge carried by the body is discrete in nature. This means that the total charge on the body is multiple of an integer. We can define the law of quantization of charge as,
\[q = ne\], where n is the integer and e is the charge on the electron.
This does not explain the additive nature of charge. Therefore the option (B) is incorrect.
The law of superposition of electric charge states that the total charge on the body is the algebraic sum of all the charges placed on the body at every position. Thus, we can see that the law of superposition of electric charge explains the additive nature of the charge.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
To answer this question, students must remember all the properties of electric charge. The superposition of electric charge actually gives the total electric field created by the system of charges. The electric field of a charge is independently taken into account and the sum of electric fields created by each charge is the total electric field.