Final answer:
The net potential change can be positive or negative, depending on the system and its interactions, obeying the conservation principle that the total electric charge in an isolated system is constant.
Step-by-step explanation:
The accurate statement about the net potential change in physics is that it can be positive or negative. This is because whether a potential change is positive or negative depends on the specific system being examined and the processes it undergoes. For instance, if an object gains electrons and becomes negatively charged, the potential change would be negative compared to its previous state. Conversely, if an object loses electrons, it becomes positively charged, and the potential change would be positive.
Referring to conservation of electric charge, it is an essential principle of physics that states the total charge in an isolated system remains constant. Therefore, within such a system, the net charge does not change unless charge is transferred in or out of the system. In chemical reactions, this principle ensures that the sum of the oxidation states must equal the net charge on the molecule or ion. For example, in the compound NaCl, sodium (Na) has an oxidation state of +1 while chlorine (Cl) is -1, resulting in a net charge of zero.
Thus, the net potential change is not exclusively positive, negative, or zero but is variable based on the interactions and transitions a system experiences.