Question

Which one of the following statements is a consequence of charge being conserved?

a) The difference between the number of positive and negative charges does not change for a given system.
b) If you examine a system at different times, the total number of charges will change.
c) Energy within the system is also conserved.
d) The positive and negative charges within a system must be quantized.
e) The numbers of electrons and protons for a given system cannot change.

Answer 1

a) total charge on a system is unchanged without the influence of an outside charge acting on the system.

Charge (left hand side) = Charge (right hand side) unless there is an outside disturbance that will change the net charge on the system.

Enclosed charge can take different forms - protons, electrons, neutrons, anti-particles, etc,, but the total charge is a constant within a system without an outside force adding or subtracting total charge on the system.