Question

An atom of sodium-23 (Na-23) has a net charge of . Identify the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in the atom. Then, explain how you determined the number of each type of particle. use the periodic table to help you.

Answer 1

Protons - 11

Neutrons - 12

Electrons - 11

Step-by-step:

An atom of sodium-23 (Na-23) has a net charge of 0 because it is a neutral atom.

To determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in Na-23, we can use its atomic number and mass number. The atomic number of sodium is 11, which means that a neutral sodium atom has 11 protons in its nucleus. The mass number of Na-23 is 23, which means that its nucleus contains 23 particles (protons and neutrons) in total.

To find the number of neutrons in Na-23, we can subtract the number of protons (which is 11) from the mass number (which is 23). Therefore, Na-23 has 23 - 11 = 12 neutrons.

Since Na-23 is a neutral atom, the number of electrons must also be 11. This is because in a neutral atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons.

So to summarize, the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in Na-23 are 11, 12, and 11, respectively. We determined the number of protons and electrons from the atomic number of sodium (which is 11), and the number of neutrons from the difference between the mass number (which is 23) and the atomic number (which is also 11).

Hope this helps!