Case: Read the passage and answer the question.
Conductors contain mobile charge carriers. In metallic conductors, these charge carriers are electrons. In a metal, the outer (valence) electrons part away from their atoms and are free to move. These electrons are free within the metal but not free to leave the metal. The free electrons form a kind of ‘gas’; they collide with each other and with the ions and move randomly in different directions. In an external electric field, they drift against the direction of the field. The positive ions made up of the nuclei and the bound electrons remain held in their fixed positions.
A neutral conductor has
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → equal amounts of positive and negative charge
From the passage, a metal is made of positive ions (the nuclei with their bound electrons) and free electrons. A body is neutral when its net charge is zero.
Option (1) an excess of positive charge — Incorrect. A conductor with an excess of positive charge has lost some electrons. So it carries a net positive charge and is not neutral.
Option (2) an excess of negative charge — Incorrect. An excess of negative charge means extra electrons, which makes the conductor negatively charged.
Option (3) equal amounts of positive and negative charge — Correct. The negative charge of all the electrons balances the positive charge of the nuclei, so the net charge is zero.
NCERT (2026-27):
Electrostatics of Conductors – “A neutral conductor has equal amounts of positive and negative charges in every small volume or surface element.”