How many protons and electrons does manganese have if the total charge is +5?
The correct answer and explanation is:
Manganese (Mn) is a chemical element with an atomic number of 25, meaning it naturally has 25 protons and 25 electrons in its neutral state. If the total charge is +5, it means the manganese atom has lost five electrons. The number of protons remains unchanged, so the number of electrons will be reduced.
Correct Answer:
- Protons: 25
- Electrons: 20
Explanation:
The charge of an atom is determined by the difference between the number of protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged). In a neutral atom, the number of protons equals the number of electrons, resulting in no net charge.
However, if an atom gains or loses electrons, it becomes an ion. In this case, if the manganese ion has a +5 charge, it has lost 5 electrons. The loss of negative charge causes the atom to become positively charged.
Manganese’s atomic number is 25, meaning it has 25 protons. If it loses 5 electrons, the number of electrons becomes 25 – 5 = 20. Therefore, the manganese ion in this situation has 25 protons and 20 electrons, resulting in a +5 charge because there are 5 more protons than electrons.
The ability of manganese to form ions with varying charges (such as +2, +3, and +5) is due to the flexibility in how many electrons it can lose from its outer shell. For instance, in +2 or +3 oxidation states, manganese can still maintain a stable electron configuration by losing different numbers of electrons. In this case, the +5 oxidation state occurs when five electrons are lost.
This is consistent with the fact that manganese often participates in chemical reactions, particularly in coordination compounds or when it acts as a catalyst, where it can change oxidation states to stabilize itself.