Final answer:
Electric charge is an object's physical property causing attraction or repulsion towards other charged objects due to an electromagnetic force. It can be positive or negative, measured in Coulombs, and cannot be created or destroyed. Like charges repel, opposites attract, and polarization can occur in neutral objects.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best definition of electric charge is the physical property of an object that causes that object to be attracted toward or repelled from another charged object. The presence of an electric charge means that the object will generate, and be affected by an electromagnetic force. This property comes in two types: positive and negative charge. Like charges repel each other, while opposite charges attract. The electric charge is measured in Coulombs, a unit named after the physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who also formulated Coulomb's Law.
Electric charge is a conserved quantity, which means that it cannot be created or destroyed. Objects can acquire a charge by contact, conduction, or induction. In conducting materials, charges can move easily, whereas, in insulating materials, the movement of charges is restricted. A polarized object, despite being electrically neutral overall, has an imbalance in charge distribution, resulting in one side having an excess negative charge, and the other an excess positive charge.