If
a system contains two point charges q1 and q2, the total
charge of the system is obtained simply by adding
algebraically q1 and q2 , i e , charges add up like real numbers or they
are scalars like the mass of a body If a system contains n charges q1,
q2, q3, …, qn, then the total charge of the system is q1 + q2 + q3 + … + qn