Charging by conduction occurs when a charged object does what to a neutral object?

• A. Touches the neutral object, causing a flow of charge during contact.
• B. The neutral object is grounded.
• C. The neutral object is polarized but not contacted.
• D. Charging occurs without contact.

Answer: (A)

Charging by conduction happens when the charged object touches the neutral object, creating a path for charge to move. The contact lets electrons flow from the object with excess charge to the neutral object (or vice versa) until both reach a common potential, so the neutral object ends up charged as a result. Grounding can change how much charge ends up on the system, but the essential action is the transfer that occurs during contact. If the neutral object is only polarized without contact, or if charging occurs without contact, those are different processes (induction or indirect charging), not conduction.