What does the Principle of Superposition state about point charges?

The Principle of Superposition states that the total force experienced by a point charge that is influenced by multiple other point charges is the vector sum of the individual forces exerted by each of those charges. This means that to determine the net force on a specific charge due to a group of other charges, one must calculate the force that each charge would exert on the target charge individually and then combine those forces, taking into account their directions.

This principle is foundational in electrostatics because it allows for the analysis of systems with multiple charges by treating each interaction separately. Each force from the individual point charges is calculated using Coulomb's law, and when these vector forces are summed up, the resultant gives the total force acting on the charge of interest.

The other choices pertain to different concepts. While the electric field can change when multiple charges are present (which makes the second choice incorrect), the net charge is a solitary property of a system not affecting the forces directly on a point charge (making the third option irrelevant in this context). Lastly, force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between charges according to Coulomb's law, rather than directly proportional (which disqualifies the fourth option).