Question

Why is an atom electrically neutral ?
Explain with 2 examples.

Answer 1

Explanation:

an atom is electrically neutral because it contains equal number of electrons(negative charge) and protons(positive charge) so over all charge is cancelled by both of them,

Answer 2

An atom is electrically neutral because it contains equal number of protons (positive ions) and electrons (negative ions).

So that they both cancel each other and help the atom to be electrically neutral.

Example - Let's take the example of Lithium.

Lithium contains 1 electron and 1 proton.

Let's take another example of Sodium. It contains 5 electrons and 5 protons and 1 Neutron.

Neutrons do not have any charge. That's why they don't affect the neutral property of an atom.