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The number of protons in the atom's nulceus.

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Q: What is an atom's atomic number best described as?
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What is the atomic number and what does it tell you about the number of protons in an atom?

The number of protons in an atom is the atomic numberThe number of protons is equal to the atomic number of an atom. It is very important in knowing the number of electrons that surround the nucleus of an atom. In an atom, the electrical charge is neutral, due to the equal number of positive (protons) and negative (electrons) charges. The atomic number represents the protons in an atom and also identifies the element. Hydrogen has one proton. No other atom has just one proton. Heluim has two protons and no other element has only two protons. Lithium has three protons and so on. The atomic number is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus, and for neutral atoms, it is the same as the number of electrons. In an attempt to keep atoms and ions from getting confused with one another, it is best to think of atoms as always being electrically neutral and ions should be considered charged positively or negatively depending on whether electrons are gained or lost by an atom during the chemical combination of atoms in forming substances such as water, salt and rust found on metals. Protons in atoms and ions are always the same for a specific atom.Every element has a unique atomic number, and so each element's identity is determined by the number of protons in its nucleus.However, the same element can have different numbers of neutrons in its nucleus. Two atoms of the same element with two different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus are called isotopes. Also, note that if an atom is not charged (neutral), then the number of protons must equal the number of electrons, and so the atomic number is also equal to the number of electrons in a neutral atom of each element.However, if the atom is charged (and therefore called an ion), it will have a different number of electrons orbiting it. If the number of electrons is less than the number of protons, it will be a positively charged ion, and the charge will equal the difference between the number of electrons and protons. The same is true if it has more electrons than protons, except now the charge will be negative.Look under the Web Links below this answer for a periodic table. The number listed for each element is its atomic number. Also see the Related Questions links for more information about the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom.


The intracellular environment is best described as?

The intracellular environment is best described as organelles, cytoplasm, water, proteins, and other chemicals, nucleus.


What is Chanson's texture best described as?

polyphonic


Why is this that most chlorine atoms contain 18 neutrons?

It would have 17 electrons. All chlorine atoms would have 17 electrons because they are electrically neutral, which means that number of protons (of charge +1) would be equal to number of electrons (of charge -1). This is true for all isotopes of chlorine.


Which best describes john Dalton's observations of elements in any given compound?

Dalton discovered that the atoms that combine to form compounds are distinguished from one another by their atomic weights. He also learned that all atoms of a given element are identical.

Related questions

Is atomic number the number of electrons in an atom?

Technically it is the number of protons, which is the same as the number of electrons in a neutral atom. But since most atoms can either gain or lose electrons to form ions it is still best to base atomic number on the protons.


How are atoms best described?

An atom represents the smallest particle that retains unique chemical properties.


What best describe electrons located in atoms?

This is the atomic orbitals theory.


When atoms or molecules gain or lose electrons they can be best described as what?

Ions


Covalent bonds can best be described as a what of electronts?

The sharing of electrons between atoms


How the sun converts matter into energy in it's core?

The sun converts matter into energy in the process of nuclear fusion, which is basically just smashing atoms together to form new, more complex atoms. When two (or more) atoms form into a new atom, the number of sub-atomic molecules in the resulting atom is less of the number of these molecules in the sum of the two previous ones, therefore the amount of matter that is turned into energy is equal to the sum of the number of sub-atomic molecules in the two previous atoms subtracted by the number of sub-atomic molecules in the new atom. Sorry if you don't understand this, because it's the best I can do.


What best describes the number of neutrons in an atom?

It is equal to the difference between atomic number and Atomic Mass number. A+


What pieces of information best describes the atomic number of an atom?

Atomic number = number of protons in an atom, and = number of electrons in an atom.


How are atoms and elements similar?

Atoms of the same element are identical. there protons all have the same number but there can be variations between the number of electrons,neutrons and atomic mass.By:Matthew Ray Tan Caseñas


What best describes the relationship between the atoms described below?

They each contain 1 neutron


How can you calculate no of moles from no of atoms?

You divide the number of atoms by avagadro's number. Avagadro's number is 6.022x10^23 atoms/molecules / mole. The best way to remember this is by the units, atoms in each mole.


What following statement best describes the number of neutrons in an atom?

it's equal to the difference between atomic number and atomic mass number