What if the number of protons and electrons are not equal?

What if the number of protons and electrons are not equal?

An ion is a charged atom or molecule. It is charged because the number of electrons do not equal the number of protons in the atom or molecule. If the atom has more electrons than protons, it is a negative ion, or ANION. If it has more protons than electrons,it is a positive ion.

Are the number of protons and electrons are always equal?

Heavier atoms tend to have more neutrons than protons, but the number of electrons in an atom is always equal to the number of protons. So an atom as a whole is electrically neutral. When one or more electrons is stripped away from an atom, it becomes positively charged.

Can an atom have a different number of protons and electrons?

The atomic number equals the charge on the nucleus. Different elements have different atomic numbers; therefore, atoms of different elements contain different numbers of protons (and electrons). Oxygen has the atomic number 8; its atoms contain 8 protons and 8 electrons.

When protons and electrons are not equal to each other atom is neutral Is it true or false?

When an atom has an equal number of electrons and protons, it has an equal number of negative electric charges (the electrons) and positive electric charges (the protons). The total electric charge of the atom is therefore zero and the atom is said to be neutral.

What happens if the number of electrons and neutrons remains the same but the number of protons changes?

Explanation: If the number of protons is the same as the number of electrons, the particle will have no charge. If atoms gain electrons they become negatively charged ions. These are also called anions.

Why is proton equal to electron?

Actually the proton and electron count of an atom are equal only when the atom is neutral in charge. The electrons are found in orbitals surrounding the nucleus. In order for the atom to remain electrically neutral the protons and electrons must balance each other.

Are there always equal number of protons and neutrons?

Atoms of a particular element must have the same number of protons but can have different numbers of neutrons. When an element has different variants that, while all having the same number of protons, have differing numbers of neutrons, these variants are called isotopes.

Why do protons and electrons have to be equal?

BRIAN M. Judy O. Actually the proton and electron count of an atom are equal only when the atom is neutral in charge. In order for the atom to remain electrically neutral the protons and electrons must balance each other.

What happens to the atom when the number of electron is not equal to the number of Proton and its neutron?

The positive protons cancel out the negative electrons. When the number of electrons does not equal the number of protons, the atom is ionized. An atom becomes radioactive when its nucleus contains too many or too few neutrons. Try to keep the same number of neutrons and protons as you build your atom.

Why do you think the 8 represents the number of protons and not the number of electrons or neutrons?

The number eight also means that oxygen has eight protons in the nucleus. The number of protons and the number of electrons are always the same in an element that is neutral and has no charge. Therefore oxygen has 8 electrons. You will find that the atomic weight of oxygen is about 16.

Why do proton and electron have same charge?

Protons have a positive charge. Electrons have a negative charge. The charge on the proton and electron are exactly the same size but opposite. Since opposite charges attract, protons and electrons attract each other.

How many times larger is a proton than an electron?

A proton is about 1835 times more massive than an electron. If you are asking about their physical dimensions – no one knows. Scientists currently do not know how small electrons are.