A carbon atom has a mass number of 12. How many protons and how many neutrons does it have?

1 Answer
anor277
Feb 1, 2016

The atom has #6# #"protons"#, and #6# #"neutrons"#.

Explanation:

You specified a carbon atom. By definition, the #C# atom has 6 protons, 6 positively charged nuclear particles, in its nucleus. You further specified the #""^12C# isotope. There must be 6 neutrons, 6 neutrally charged, massive particles in its nucleus.

If it's a carbon atom, the number of protons cannot change (why not?), but the number of neutrons in the nucleus can vary. #""^13C#, and #""^14C# isotopes are known. How many neutrons does each nuclide possess?

Related questions
See all questions in Basic Atomic Structure
Impact of this question
11237 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License