Two lab partners are doing a static electricity investigation. They begin with a negatively-charged aluminum pie plate. After conducting the procedure, they observe that the pie plate has become electrically neutral. Which statement accurately explains how this happened?

a. Electrons were added to the object. b. Protons were added to the object. c. Electrons were removed from the object. d. Protons were removed from the object.

The correct option is (c).

Explanation:

In the conduction process, the electrons get transferred from one object to the other object. The electrons are freely charged particles. Protons cannot  be moved freely.

In the given problem, the given aluminum pie plate is negatively-charged initially. After the conduction process, the plate gets electrically neutral.

It means that the excess of electrons from the aluminum pie plate is removed. Then, the number of electrons and the number of protons becomes equal. The plate becomes electrically neutral.

Therefore, the correct option is "Electrons were removed from the object".