10 Unforgivable Atomic Number and Mass Number Mistakes Everyone Makes
The sum of atomic number and mass number is the total number of sub-particles present in an atom.
This blog will study the atomic and mass number of an atom in detail. Atomic number and mass number are physics topics of CBSE science.
The blog will also discuss the process of calculating atomic numbers in the atom.
What is an atomic number?
The atomic number is the total number of protons of every chemical element denoted by Z.
The chemical element is the nucleus body of every atom.
The symbol Z represents the atomic number of a molecule.
Atomic number definition decides the numeric position of an element in the periodic table.
The atomic number is also defined as nuclear charge and one of the important properties of atoms.
The atom of every different chemical element has a different number of protons or different atomic numbers.
The atomic number is written directly below the mass number. 12 6 C.
Where 12 is the mass number denoted by A. and 6 is the number of protons or atomic number denoted by Z.
It defines the process of how to find the atomic numbers.
What is mass number?
The mass number is the total sum of protons and neutrons that exist in the nucleus body of every atom.
So, the mass number represents several protons + the number of neutrons.
The atoms with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes.
The subtraction of an atomic number from the mass
number is the way of how to find the number of neutrons present in the nucleus body of an atom.
The mass number is written beside the name of the element or as a subscript written to the left of the element name.
Number of electrons
The number of electrons of an atom is exactly the number of protons of an atom.
So, if the atomic number or proton number is known, we can easily say this is the way of how to find the number of electrons as well.
Atoms are without any charge because of containing the same number of opposite charges.
Electron produces negative charge, and proton releases positive charge. So, several electrons= number of protons = atomic number.
Atomic mass number
The mass number (denoted by A) is also called the atomic mass number or nucleon number.
The term nucleon represents the total number of neutron s and protons present in the nucleus of an atom.
The mass number approximately equals the atomic mass number of an atom.
Some important notes
Atomic number 8 means the total number of protons of an atomic nucleus. the name of the chemical element is Oxygen.
This means the total number of protons of every atom is eight, and the total number of electrons of every atom is also 8.
The difference is the holding of the opposite
charge.
The atomic number of carbons is 6.
This means one atom of Carbon holds six units of proton and six units of electrons.
The opposite charge of electron and proton cancels out the charge on the nucleus.
The single-letter chemical element name
● Carbon(C)
● Oxygen(O)
● Nitrogen(N)
● Hydrogen(H)
So, the atomic number can identify a chemical compound.
Every atom is different from another atom in terms of its size and number of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
Proton and electrons are subatomic particles present in the atom nucleus with a positive electric charge and negative charge as well.
Some frequently asked questions
Q. Who introduced the concept of atomic number?
A. Henry Gwyn-Jefferies Moseley introduced this theory.
Q. What is the process to find atomic mass from the atomic number and the number of neutrons?
A. Addition of mass of protons and neutrons to calculate the atomic mass of a single atom of an element.