Identify the correct statement among the following.
(1) The Total charge of an isolated system is always conserved
(2) All free charges are half integral multiple of electronic (e) charges
(3) Charges can either be positive or negative and hence is a vector
(4) The total charge content of a charged body is always zero
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → 1
The basic properties of electric charge are conservation, quantisation and additivity (charge is a scalar).
(1) The Total charge of an isolated system is always conserved — Correct. Charge can be transferred or created in equal and opposite pairs, but the net charge of an isolated system never changes.
(2) All free charges are half integral multiple of electronic (e) charges — Incorrect. Charge is quantised as \( q = ne \) with \( n \) an integer, not a half integer.
(3) Charges can either be positive or negative and hence is a vector — Incorrect. A sign does not make a quantity a vector; charge has no direction and adds algebraically, so it is a scalar.
(4) The total charge content of a charged body is always zero — Incorrect. A charged body has a net excess or deficit of electrons, so its total charge is not zero.
NCERT (2026-27):
Charge Is Conserved – “… Within an isolated system consisting of many charged bodies, due to interactions among the bodies, charges may get redistributed but it is found that the total charge of the isolated system is always conserved.”
Quantisation of Charge – “Experimentally it is established that all free charges are integral multiples of a basic unit of charge denoted by e.”
Additivity of Charges – “… If a system contains two point charges q1 and q2, the total charge of the system is obtained simply by adding algebraically q1 and q2, i.e., charges add up like real numbers or they are scalars like the mass of a body.”