Question

Sally is making a model of a Mg atom with an atomic mass number of 24. She has balls for the protons, neutrons, and electrons. She has added 6 neutrons to her model. How many more neutrons does she need to add to complete her neutral atom of magnesium?

Answer 1

For `""^24Mg`.............................?

Explanation:

`Z`, `"the atomic number"` of magnesium is 12. This means that there are 12 positively charged nuclear particles. This defines the particle as a magnesium atom.

To represent the `""^24Mg` isotope, we thus need 6 more neutrons.