An atom containing 8 protons, 9 neutrons, and 8 electrons would be considered charge-neutral.
A True
B False
The correct answer and explanation is :
Correct Answer: A. True
Explanation:
An atom consists of three fundamental subatomic particles:
- Protons (positively charged)
- Neutrons (neutral, no charge)
- Electrons (negatively charged)
The charge of an atom depends entirely on the balance between protons and electrons:
- Each proton has a charge of +1.
- Each electron has a charge of –1.
- Neutrons do not affect the charge since they have no charge.
In this question, the atom has:
- 8 protons
- 8 electrons
- 9 neutrons
Let’s break it down:
- The 8 protons contribute a total positive charge of +8.
- The 8 electrons contribute a total negative charge of –8.
- The net charge of the atom is:
+8 (protons) + –8 (electrons) = 0
Since the net charge is zero, the atom is electrically neutral or charge-neutral.
The neutrons, though important for the mass and stability of the nucleus, do not influence the charge. In this case, having 9 neutrons (instead of the more common 8 in oxygen) simply means the atom is an isotope of oxygen—specifically, oxygen-17. Isotopes are variants of an element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
To summarize:
- The number of protons equals the number of electrons in this atom.
- Therefore, their charges cancel each other out.
- Hence, the atom is electrically neutral.
So the correct answer is A. True.