• Question: in an atom, why does the charge have to be negative

    Asked by queen to Rachel, Nicholas, Kate, Eva, David on 10 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Nicholas Pearce

      Nicholas Pearce answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      Hey,

      Atoms are made of 3 smaller bits:
      Positively charged protons
      Negatively charged electrons
      and Uncharged neutrons
      In an atom there are always the same number of protons and electrons, so there is no charge left at the end.

      Electrons can be lost or gained by an atom, but if this happens, you will have an ion, not an atom. Atoms never have a charge.

    • Photo: Eva Weiss

      Eva Weiss answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      An atom is neutral in charge because it contains an equal amount of positively charged protons in the nucleus of the atom and negatively charged electrones moving around the nucleus. An atom with a charge is called an ion. It can be positively or negatively charged.

    • Photo: David Nunan

      David Nunan answered on 12 Nov 2015:

      Hi,

      Atoms themselves don’t have a charge, its the elements within them that are charged. The protons are positively charged and the electrons are negatively charged. You also have neutrons that don’t have any charge.

      Protons and neutrons join together to form the nucleus which is the central part of the atom. Electrons circle around this nucleus.

      Atoms will always have as many electrons as protons but these can be added or taken away. Adding a proton makes a new kind of atom. Adding a neutron makes an isotope of that atom (a heavier version of the atom!).

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