Concept:Electrostatics, Gauss's law, and properties of electric fields and Coulomb force are fundamental topics in physics.
Explanation:Statement A: Electrostatic field lines start at positive charges and end at negative charges.
They do not form closed loops because the electrostatic force is conservative.
Hence, statement A is incorrect.
Statement B: For a positive charge (
q>0), electric field lines point radially outward.
This follows from the definition of electric field direction on a positive test charge.
Hence, statement B is correct.
Statement C: Gauss's law relates electric flux to enclosed charge.
It is derived from Coulomb's law, which is an inverse-square force (force
∝1/r2).
Hence, Gauss's law is valid only for inverse-square forces.
Thus, statement C is correct.
Statement D: The electrostatic field is a conservative field.
Work done around any closed path in a conservative field is always zero.
Hence, statement D is correct.
Statement E: Coulomb's force is a central force, always acting along the line joining two charges.
This gives zero torque, so angular momentum is conserved.
Conservation of angular momentum restricts motion to a plane.
Hence, statement E is correct.
Therefore, statements B, C, D, and E are correct; statement A is false.
Answer:The correct option is C (B, C, D, E Only).
