• Question: How do I find the number of protons, electrons and neutrons that are in an atom of an element?

    Asked by MC_pineapple to Alex, Anaïs, Peter, Sarwat, Shreesha on 11 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Alexander Henderson

      Alexander Henderson answered on 11 Mar 2015:

      Atoms have a mass (A) which is composed of # neutrons’s (N) and # of proton’s (Z). So A = N + Z. So for carbon: 12 = 6 + 6. Carbon’s mass is 12 (A), it’s atomic number is 6 ( protons; Z = 6) and it it has 6 neutrons (N). Atoms are neutral so the number of protons equals the number of electrons.

    • Photo: Anaïs Pujol

      Anaïs Pujol answered on 11 Mar 2015:

      The atomic mass (A) is the sum of atomic number (Z) and neutron number. On any periodic classification you should find the atomic number and the atomic mass.

    • Photo: Sarwat Iqbal

      Sarwat Iqbal answered on 12 Mar 2015:

      In order to determine the number of protons, neutrons and electrons that are in an atom, the first thing you need to do is find the atomic number and the atomic mass of the element you are interested in. You can use the Periodic Table of Elements to find this information.
      protons = atomic number
      electrons = atomic number
      neutrons = rounded atomic mass – atomic number

    • Photo: Shreesha Bhat

      Shreesha Bhat answered on 13 Mar 2015:

      Very well explained by others.

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