When we talk about charge of an electron, why do we not use the negative sign?

Question

When we talk about charge of an electron, why do we not use the negative sign?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

The math works the same whether you define the electron as negative or the proton as negative, it only really matters that they’re opposite.

By convention we typically define the electron charge as negative, but you will often find the magnitude of the charge given as an absolute value, which is always positive.

There’s both magnitude and “direction” here, I can say you’re going 65mph or I can be more specific and say you’re going 65mph due East.

The electron’s magnitude is the elementary charge, and the “direction” is negative.