Question

How is nitrogen-14 an anion?

Since it has 7 protons, neutrons, and electrons, wouldn't it not be an anion since it does not have a negative electric charge?

Answer 1

An atom of nitrogen-14 is not an anion.

Explanation:

First and foremost, if an atom has equal numbers of protons inside the nucleus and of electrons surrounding the nucleus, then it is electrically neutral, i.e. it is neither a cation nor an anion.

In order for an atom to be an anion, it must have more electrons surrounding the nucleus than protons inside the nucleus.

You know that

`"net charge" = "no. of protons " - " no. of electrons"`

This shows that equal numbers of protons and electrons correspond to a net charge of `0`, i.e. the atom is neutral.

If you have

`"no. of electrons " > " no. of protons"`

then you get

`"net charge" < 0`

In this case, the atom is an anion because it carries a negative net charge.

Also, keep in mind that the identity of the isotope is irrelevant when it comes to the net charge of the atom.

In this case, nitrogen-14 denotes the isotope of nitrogen that has `7` protons and `7` neutrons inside the nucleus. But since the number of neutrons does not influence the net charge of the atom, it is irrelevant in this regard.

In order for nitrogen-14, `""^14"N"`, to be an anion, it must have `7` protons and `7` neutrons inside the nucleus and `10` electrons surrounding the nucleus.

In this case, you have

`"net charge" = 7 - 10 = -3`

which means that the anion carries a `3-` net charge. The symbol for a nitrogen-14 anion will be

`""^14"N"^(3-)`

As a final note, don't forget to review the difference between neutral atoms, cations, and anions.