Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Charge of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons
Charge of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons
The atom consists of 3 types of particles. The proton, electron and neutron. Protons : Carry a Positive electric charge ( Tip! P is for Positive) Electrons : Carry a negative electric charge Neutrons : No electric charge, they are Neutral. ( Tip! N is for Neutral)
The nucleus
The nucleus is the dense central core of the atom. The mass of the atom is almost entirely due to the mass of the nucleus. The nucleus consists of the Protons and Neutrons. The mass of the proton and
The electrons move around the atom in different energy levels.Their negative charge is attracted to the nucleus of the atom by the positive charge. The Positive charge of the proton and the Negative charge of the electron are attracted to each other, therefore overall the atom has no
is equal to
electrical charge. This shows that in any atom there is always the same number of the positive protons as there is of negative electrons. This number can be represented as the atomic number.
Example : Carbon
There are three isotopes of carbon found in nature carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. All three have six protons, but their neutron numbers 6, 7, and 8, respectively all differ. This means that all three isotopes have different atomic masses (carbon-14 being the heaviest), but share the same atomic number (Z=6).
Not all isotopes are stable and thus has the ability to transform and decay.
This unique nature of isotopes, makes them useful for a wide range of applications in fields as diverse as medicine, archaeology, agriculture, power generation and mining. Isotopes can be used in nuclear medicine PET Scans and carbon dating.