A student rubs a plastic rod with a cloth, giving the rod a negative electrostatic charge. When the student holds the charged rod near small, neutral pieces of paper, the pieces of paper are attracted to the rod.
Which statement explains why this attraction happens?
The negative rod repels negative charges in the paper, inducing a positive charge on the side of the paper closest to the rod.
The paper has a permanent positive charge, which is attracted to the negative rod.
The rod transfers positive charge to the paper, and like charges attract.
Both the paper and the rod become negatively charged, causing them to attract.