Question

Most titanium atoms have 22 electrons. Are there some titanium atoms that have a different number of electrons?

Answer 1

All titanium atoms have `22` electrons!

Explanation:

The thing to remember about electrons is that a neutral atom will always have a fixed number of electrons surrounding its nucleus.

That number of electrons is given by the number of protons present inside the nucleus. In order for an atom to be neutral, the number of protons it has inside its nucleus must be equal to the number of electrons that surround the nucleus.

Titanium, `"Ti"`, has an atomic number equal to `22`, which means that every atom of titanium contains `22` protons inside its nucleus.

Consequently, every atom of titanium must have `22` electrons surrounding its nucleus.

So, if an atom of titanium has a different number fo electrons, then said atom is actually an ion, meaning that it carries a net charge.

For example, titanium can lose four electrons to form the titanium(IV) cation, `"Ti"^(4+)`. This ion has `22` protons and `18` electrons.

So, to sum this up, an atom of titanium must have `22` electrons surrounding its nucleus. An ion of titanium can have a different number of electrons because it carries a net charge, i.e. is not neutral.

Keep in mind that the number of neutrons located inside the nucleus can vary between various atoms of titanium, i.e. between isotopes.