Final answer:
The electron will reach the origin first, assisted by the electric force and its small mass, accelerating it more than the more massive proton, while a positron would not move towards a positively charged origin.OPTION C.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the electric force interactions between subatomic particles and determining which of them would reach the origin first if released from rest. As the neutron is neutral and not influenced by the electric force, it can be immediately discounted. Between the proton, electron, and positron, it comes down to their electric charge and mass. Both the electron and positron have the same mass but opposite charges; the proton has a positive charge like the positron but has a significantly larger mass.
According to Newton's second law (F = ma), acceleration (a) is the force (F) divided by the mass (m), and since the force due to the electric field is the same for all three (they all have the same magnitude of charge), the one with the smallest mass will have the greatest acceleration. Therefore, for a given electric field, an electron and a positron would be accelerated more than a proton because they have less mass.