What effect does an increased electric field have on the acceleration of a charge?

An increased electric field results in a stronger force acting on a charge. According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass (F = ma). In the context of an electric field, the force on a charged particle is given by F = qE, where q is the charge and E is the strength of the electric field.

As the electric field strength increases, the force experienced by the charge increases accordingly. Since the mass of the charge remains constant, a greater force means that the acceleration must also increase. This relationship illustrates that the greater the electric field, the greater the acceleration imparted to the charge. Thus, the presence of a stronger electric field results in increased acceleration for a charge, confirming that the correct answer is that it increases the acceleration.