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To be a carbon atom or ion, it must contain 6 protons. There may be either 6, 7 or 8 neutrons along with the protons in the nucleus.

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How many neutrons does carbon have if it has a Mass Number of 12?

If carbon has a mass number of 12, it means it has 6 protons (since the atomic number of carbon is 6). To find the number of neutrons, you subtract the number of protons from the mass number. Therefore, carbon-12 would have 6 neutrons.


What is an element that has 6 protons 6 electrons and 6 neutrons?

To know the element, you need only know how many protons it has. All atoms of carbon have 6 protons. Carbon-12 is an isotope of carbon that has 6 protons and 6 neutrons.


Carbon has an atomic number of 6 how many protons and neutrons are in a nucleus of carbon 13?

Carbon-13 has 6 protons because the element is carbon. Since the atomic number for carbon is 6, it tells us the number of protons. Carbon-13 has 7 neutrons because to get the number of neutrons you subtract the atomic number from the mass number, which is 13.


How many neutrons does an atom of carbon-14 contain?

The position of Carbon on the periodic table tells you how many protons carbon has in its nucleus. The number after it tells you the total number of protons and neutrons. You can take the number after it and subtract its number on the periodic table and get the number of neutrons. For example: Helium is the second element in the periodic table. Helium 3 has two protons and one neutron. Helium 4 has 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Since it is element number 2 it has two protons. Now try that with carbon.


How do carbon 12 and carbon 14 differ?

Carbon 12 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons. Carbon 14 has 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Carbon 12 is abundant in the environment, accounting for 98.89% of all carbon and is a stable isotope of carbon. Carbon 14 accounts for only about 1 trillionth of all of the carbon on Earth and is radioactive, with a half life of roughly 5700 years, which makes it good for use in dating fossils etc