AIIMS 2018 Physics Coulomb's Law and Superposition Principle Assertion Reason Question
Assertion: The property that the force with which two charges attract or repel each other are not affected by the presence of a third charge. Reason: Force on any charges due to a number of other charge is the vector sum of all the forces on that charge due to other charges, taken one at a time.
If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
If assertion is true but reason is false.
If both assertion and reason are false.
Correct Answer
Detailed Explanation
Option B is correct because the assertion accurately states that the force between two charges is independent of a third charge, reflecting Coulomb's law, which describes the interaction between point charges. However, while the reason is true—forces on a charge are indeed the vector sum of individual forces from other charges—it does not directly explain why the presence of a third charge does not affect the force between the first two charges.
Option A is incorrect because, although both statements are true, the reason does not explain the assertion. Option C is incorrect since both statements are true. Option D is incorrect as both the assertion and reason are valid in the context of electrostatics.
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