Question

Consider a neutral atom with 30 protons and 34 neutrons. What is the atoms number of electrons?

Answer 1

All you needed to know was that:

• The atom is neutral.
• The atom has `\mathbf(30)` protons.

Neutrality implies that all charges cancel.

Protons are positively charged, and electrons are negatively charged.

Therefore, a neutral atom has the same number of protons as electrons, no matter the number of neutrons.

You have two charges, and two types of particles. If `1 + (-1) = 0`, `30 + ?? = 0?` At this point, you should be able to infer what the answer is. ;)