Question

An atom of a certain element has 36 protons, 36 electrons, and a mass number of 84, At

room temperature this element is a very stable gas. How many neutrons are in this atom?

Answer 1

48

Step-by-step explanation:

Atomic number is equal to how much electrons there is (the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons)

To find the number of neutrons, one have to subtract the atomic number from the atomic mass.

i.e: 84-36=48

Answer 2

The atom of the element contains 48 neutrons.

SUBATOMIC PARTICLES:

• In an atom, there are three subatomic particles namely: neutron, proton and electron. The proton is the positively charged part of the atom, the electron is the negatively charged part while the neutron is the neutral part.

HOW TO CALCULATE MASS NUMBER:

• The mass number of an element can be calculated by adding the number of neutrons and the protons, which is the atomic number.

• This means that the number of neutrons can be calculated by subtracting the number of protons from the mass number of the element. That is;

No. of neutrons = mass no. - no. of protons

No. of neutrons = 84 - 36

No. of neutrons = 48

• Therefore, the atom of the element contains 48 neutrons.