Coulomb's Law (positive & negative charges)

[ND3G]

I need to draw a single point charge with a magnitude of +4.3 C (coulomb's)

I want to make sure that I am doing this right so:

If one electron equals 1.602*10^-19 C than +4.3 C is actually a negative charge and therefore -4.3 C would be a positive charge.

Is this right or do i have it backwards and by stating +4.3 C they mean a proton charge (positive charge)?

 

[Doc Al]

You have it backwards. 1.602*10^-19 C is the magnitude of the charge on the electron (or proton). The sign of an electron's charge is negative.

A charge of +4.3 C is a positive charge--just as you'd expect!

 

[Hootenanny]

No, one electron has a charge equal to -1.602x10^-19 C. However, the elementary charge, which is assigned the symbol e has a charge equal to +1.602x10^-19 C. Therefore, a proton has a charge of +1e and an electron of -1e. Does that make sense?

Edit: Doc Al strikes again...

 

[ND3G]

Yes, thanks