As a precaution, the levers on gasoline pumps in many provinces in Canada must be manually operated at all times. One of the reasons for this is especially relevant in the winter time because the fabrics used for heavy clothing and coats makes it easy to build up a static electric charge. Explain why it could be dangerous to allow someone to have the gas continue pumping while they are doing something else; imagine what might happen when they come back and touch the pump. 2 Electric Charge and Charge Carriers Question 2: What is an electric charge? Try to write down a definition. Question 3: When an object acquires an electric charge, is the charge created and then placed on the object, or is the charge transferred from one object to another? Explain.