What happens to unlike charges?

Prepare for the NCEA Level 2 Physics Exam. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question has hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Unlike charges, which consist of a positive charge and a negative charge, will experience an attractive force towards each other. This attraction occurs due to the fundamental properties of electric charges, as dictated by Coulomb's law. According to this law, opposite charges attract while like charges repel.

When a positive charge is brought near a negative charge, the positive charge pulls the negative charge closer, resulting in attraction. This phenomenon is a crucial aspect of electrostatics and is responsible for many interactions in both everyday life and in more complex systems, such as in the formation of molecules where positive and negative ions bond together.

In contrast, like charges—two positives or two negatives—will repel each other, indicating that the nature of the charge directly influences the behavior between two charged objects. Therefore, the attractive nature of unlike charges is why this option is the correct choice.

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