Does the number of electrons determine the charge?
The number of electrons that surround the nucleus will determine whether or not an atom is electrically charged or electrically neutral. The amount of charge on a single proton is equal to the amount of charge possessed by a single electron. A proton and an electron have an equal amount but an opposite type of charge.
What is the relationship between the number of protons and electrons and the charge of an atom?
Electrons contribute greatly to the atom’s charge, as each electron has a negative charge equal to the positive charge of a proton. Scientists define these charges as “+1” and “−1.” In an uncharged, neutral atom, the number of electrons orbiting the nucleus is equal to the number of protons inside the nucleus.
Does more electrons mean more charge?
Charge sign is a question of convention and historicaly a sign minus was attributed to electrons, so more electrons means larger negative charge. The same type of convention concerns what we call matter and antimatter, which in case of charged particles means opposite charges as well.
Why do proton and electron have same charge?
Protons have a positive charge. Electrons have a negative charge. The charge on the proton and electron are exactly the same size but opposite. Since opposite charges attract, protons and electrons attract each other.
What is the relationship between protons and neutrons and the mass number?
The mass number of an atom is equal to the number of protons plus the number of neutrons that it contains. In other words, the number of neutrons in any atom is its mass number minus its atomic number.
Why is an electron negatively charged?
Charge of electron is opposite to that of proton so combination of equal number of protons and electrons has total charge zero, i.e. it is electrically neutral. One such combination (up to additional other particles (neutrons)) is the usual (not ionized) atom.