Physics: Principles with Applications (7th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32162-592-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-32162-592-2

Chapter 16 - Electric Charge and Electric Field - Misconceptual Questions - Page 468: 5

Answer

Choice D.

Work Step by Step

Remember which object is creating the electric field we’re interested in, and which object is the “test charge” interacting with this field. Here, the positive point charge is creating the field, and the field created by a positive charge always points directly away from it. When a negative charge sits in an electric field, it feels a force in the opposite direction as the field. That is, the negative charge experiences a force toward the positive charge. This all makes sense, because opposite charges attract.
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