Explain the basic properties of electrical charge?
2 Answers
Electrical charge is a physical property found within matter. It causes it to experience a force when in the presence of other matter with a charge. Basically, a charge can be positive
- Opposite charges attract and same charges repel. For instance, electrons repel each other, but protons are attracted to electrons.
- Charges interact more when closer and less when farther.
- Charges are additive. If one
#+1# charge comes near a#-1# charge, the net charge is#0# . For example, a neutral compound must have all of its charges add up to#0# , so since#"Na"_2"O"# would contain two#"Na"^(+)# , it necessarily would contain only one#"O"^(2-)# . - Higher charge magnitudes interact more strongly, and vice versa. For instance, that's why
#stackrel(1+)"Na"stackrel(1-)"Cl"# has a smaller lattice energy than#stackrel(2+)"Ca"stackrel(2-)"O"# .
The basic properties of charge is the number of electrons that an atom or ion gains or loses to become stable.
Explanation:
If an atom or polyatomic ion loses electrons ( is oxidized ) it acquires a positive charge.
If an atom or polyatomic ion gains electrons ( is reduced ) it aquires a negative charge.
Oxygen with a high electronegativity tends to gain electrons oxidizing other atoms and ions and becoming negative in nature. (Oxygen is reduced)
An example would be water
In the polyatomic ion sulfate