Question

An electric field around two charged objects is shown.

What are the charges of objects X and Y?
O X: negative
Y positive
O X: positive
Y positive
O X: negative
Y negative
O X: positive
Y: negative
х
Y

Answer 1

y is positive

x is negative

Answer 2

X is Positive

Y is Negative

Step-by-step explanation:

Okay, so this is just a matter of what we define the characteristics of positive and negative charges to be.

Positive charges are defined as "sources". This means that the electric fields that they produce are taken to be moving away from the charge itself. So when we draw electric filed lines, the arrows coming from them are directed away from the charge.

Oppositely so, negative charges are defined as "sinks". This means that the electric fields that they produce are taken to be toward/into the charge itself. So when we draw electric filed lines, the arrows coming from them are directed toward/into the charge.

(You can think of positive charges as sink faucets and negative charges as the drain.)

So in the case of a dipole interaction like the one you have shown, look at the arrows on the field lines and see which charge appears to be the "source" and which appears to be the "sink". In this case, X looks to be a source, so it is positive and Y appears to be the sink, so it is negative.