Final answer:
The correct answer is D) Both distance and charge amount matter, as Coulomb's law states that force between charged objects is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks how distance and the amount of charge affect interactions between objects. According to Coulomb's law, the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of the charges of the objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
So, if the distance between the objects increases, the force between them diminishes significantly, as it decreases by the square of the distance. Conversely, if the charge on the objects increases, the force between them also increases.
Therefore, the correct answer to the question is D) Both distance and charge amount matter. This conceptual understanding is pivotal in physics, especially when considering electrical interactions and can be illustrated with the classic example of two charged particles affecting each other.
If you double the distance between two point charges, the force between them is reduced to a fourth of its original value.