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What else can I help you with?
Are the number of protons always equal to the number of neutrons?
No, in fact, they rarely are equal. There are different forms of the same type of atom. For example, there are three isotopes of Hydrogen, an element that has one proton. Hydrogen-1 has no neutrons. Hydrogen-2 has one neutron. Hydrogen-3 has two neutrons.
Does an atom with more neutrons have a positive charge?
No. Neutrons have no charge. They are neutral ... the main reason they're called NEUtrons.The total charge on an atom is not affected by the number of neutrons in its nucleus.
What is the force needed to hold together a nucleus?
Nuclear force- it is a force that exists between two or more nucleons, it is responsible for the bonding of the neutrons and protons. The reason itself is much more complicated because it involves quarks which are smaller than protons or neutrons.
Why mass number denoted by A?
Mass number is the total number of protons and neutrons. because the nucleus consists of protons and neutrons only, the sum of protons and neutrons is the total number of ALL the nucleons. note the term "ALL" here.. this is the reason why mass number is denoted as "A".
What is the smallest element and its reason?
Hydrogen. It's reason is to be Hydrogen.
What charge are neutrons in the magnesium atom?
All neutrons have a negative charge. That is the reason they are called neutrons.
What two things does the atomic mass represent?
Atomic mass is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. The reason it is typically found in decimal form is because it is using the average number of neutrons, from all the different isotopes of that element.
How do you find the mass number of an element or compound without knowing the number of neutrons?
Atomic weight is really the only way to know how many neutrons there are. However, if you have no reason to think that you are dealing with an unusual isotope, you can assume the normal distribution of isotopes.
Why are atoms generally neutral?
Because it is ions that are charged. Basically the same reason why we distinguish mammels from reptiles: they are different. Atoms/neutrals are different from ions/not-neutrals because they are different. equal number of protons and neutrons equal number of protons and neutrons
Total number of protons and neutrons in the atom is?
The total number of neutrons in an atom is known as its atomic mass. The sum of all the atomic weights of isotopes of a particular element is known as an element's atomic weight. Atomic weights are decimal numbers for this reason.
How can an element or atom can have more neutrons than protons?
in chemistry we look at the atomic mass:(symbol A) and we look at atomic number:(symbol Z) Z is the number of proton. you do math: A-Z=number if that number is bigger then Z, neutrons are more than protons remember: A=protons+neutrons
Do neutrons have the same number of protons in an atom?
No. There are several very common cases in which the number of neutrons differs from the number of protons. For early elements (the lighter ones), the proton to neutron ratio is generally 1 to 1. For example, the common hydrogen atom always has 1 proton, and usually 1 neutron. Larger elements, such as uranium, have a larger ratio. If you have ever seen, uranium is often referred to as uranium 238, the key particle in the atomic bomb. Uranium has 92 protons, meaning the difference in mass is accounted for by 146 neutrons. So the neutron to proton ratio in this case is about 1.6. The reason that the ratio differs along the periodic table can be explained by two forces. The first is electromagnetism. You are probably familiar with this. Life particles (such as 2 protons) repel while opposite particle (such as proton and electron) attract. But remember that electrons orbit around the nucleus of an atom. The nucleus itself consists of protons and neutrons. Neutrons don't seem to matter as they are electrically neutral, but how are protons able to sit by each other so tightly packed if a powerful repulsive force exists between them? The answer to that lies in a different force that is strong enough to overcome their repulsiveness at extremely close distances. This force is actually simply called the strong force or sometimes, the strong nuclear force. This force is an attraction between protons and protons, neutrons and neutrons, and even protons and neutrons! I'm not sure how well this force is understood, but we certainly know it's there. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the elements of the periodic table to even exist due to the electromagnetic repulsion of like particles! Now as we get to bigger and bigger elements along the periodic table, there are more protons packed together in a tightly spaced nucleus of a given element. This means that the electromagnetic repulsive force is dramatically increasing simply because there are more particles to repel each other. More neutrons, then, are needed to maintain a form of equilibrium, something strong enough to bind the nucleus in place. Therefore, the ratio increases. One last note: I stated that the early elements held a one to one proton to neutron ratio in general, leaving the implication that it does not necessarily have to be one to one. This would be correct if you thought that. The hydrogen atom actually has two other known isotopes (different number of neutrons then usual). Hydrogen can have one proton and two neutrons. This compound is known as deuterium, and is part of the cause for "hard water". However, deuterium is a more unstable form and does not exist as much. Hydrogen can also exist with three neutrons, and this particle is known as tritium. It is highly radioactive due to the substantial instability that it holds. A particle of such small size is not "designed" to hold onto so many neutrons because it doesn't really need more than 1 to account for the one proton. Because of such a high instability, tritium very rarely exists at all. Hope this helped! :)
