A proton and an electron placed near each other form what?

A proton and an electron placed near each other form what?

• A. Electric field
• B. Electric dipole
• C. Electric potential
• D. Electric shield

Answer: (B)

When two charges are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign and are separated in space, they form an electric dipole. The proton carries a positive charge and the electron carries a negative charge, so together they create a pair with a dipole moment that points from the negative charge to the positive charge. This dipole description captures the essential feature of their arrangement: a distinct separation of opposite charges. While the system does produce an electric field and a potential around it, the defining way to describe this setup is as a dipole. The idea of an electric shield doesn’t apply here, since shielding involves rearranging charges on a conductor to cancel fields inside, not the presence of two isolated opposite charges.

When two charges are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign and are separated in space, they form an electric dipole. The proton carries a positive charge and the electron carries a negative charge, so together they create a pair with a dipole moment that points from the negative charge to the positive charge. This dipole description captures the essential feature of their arrangement: a distinct separation of opposite charges. While the system does produce an electric field and a potential around it, the defining way to describe this setup is as a dipole. The idea of an electric shield doesn’t apply here, since shielding involves rearranging charges on a conductor to cancel fields inside, not the presence of two isolated opposite charges.