1. define atomic number.
2. why is an atom electrically neutral?
Answers
the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which is characteristic of a chemical element and determines its place in the periodic table.
Atoms are electrically neutral because they have equal numbers of protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged). If an atom gains or loses one or more electrons, it becomes an ion. If it gains one or more electrons, it now carries a net negative charge, and is thus "anionic."
1. The atomic number of an element is equal to the total number of protons in the element's nucleus and is commonly represented as the letter Z. Atomic numbers allow chemists to order the periodic table of elements. Different isotopes of an element have the same atomic number, but will have different atomic masses. For example, carbon-12 and carbon-14 are both atomic number 6, but they have 6 and 8 neutrons, respectively. The lowest atomic number is 1, which is hydrogen, and currently the highest known atomic number is 118.
2.Atoms are electrically neutral because they have equal numbers of protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged). If an atom gains or loses one or more electrons, it becomes an ion. If it gains one or more electrons, it now carries a net negative charge, and is thus "anionic." If, on the other hand, it loses one or more electrons, it now carries a net positive charge and is "cationic."