Question

How many protons in ammonium ion...?

Answer 1

I count `4xxH`.........

Explanation:

`"Ammonium"` is the conjugate acid of `"ammonia"`, i.e.

`H_3N + H^(+) rarr ""^+NH_4^`

Protonation quaternizes the nitrogen centre and it has a formal positive charge........

Of course, we COULD mean protons as massive, positively charged nuclear particles, in which there are 11 protons in the the ammonium ion. Given that we are in the chemistry section, I will stick with the definition of proton as `""^1H^+`.

Answer 2

`11` `"protons"`

Explanation:

We're asked to find the number of protons in the ammonium ion, `"NH"_4^+`.

Counting protons in a compound is straightforward; the number of protons in one atom of an element is the atomic number of that element.

Therefore, we just need to add of the atomic numbers of each element (multiplied by how many of the element there are in the compound).

I might note: the charge on any compound makes no difference in the number of protons in it; the charge is due to the addition/loss of electrons, and don't affect the proton number (which is always the same for any element)

The number of protons in one ammonium species is

`overbrace(1(7"protons"))^"Nitrogen (atomic number 7)" + overbrace((4)(1 "proton"))^"Hydrogen (atomic number 1)" = color(red)(11 "protons"`

There are `11` protons in every ammonium ion.