Can you please help with these questions?
How does the charge of one electron compare to that of another electron? How does it compare with the charge of a proton?
How do the numbers of protons in the atomic nucleus compare to the number of electrons that orbit the nucleus?
I will be happy to critique your thinking. It is not nice to post a lot of questions with each a different name. Usually, slackers or answer moochers do that.
All electrons have the same charge. Protons have the opposite charge. Atoms have as many protons as electrons, so they are electrically neutral.
If protons don't have the opposte charge of electron, then atoms are not exactly neutral. This will lead to certain observable effects as discussed in this article:
http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0310066
These effects can be used to derive strong contraints on the net charge of atoms.
Of course, I'll be happy to help you with these questions!
1. How does the charge of one electron compare to that of another electron? How does it compare with the charge of a proton?
The charge of one electron is exactly the same as the charge of another electron. In other words, they have equal and opposite charges. The charge of an electron is negative, specifically -1 elementary charge unit, denoted as e^-.
On the other hand, the charge of a proton is positive. It is equal in magnitude to the charge of an electron, but with opposite sign. So, the charge of a proton is +1 elementary charge unit, denoted as e^+.
In summary, the charge of one electron is the same as another electron, but opposite in sign; while the charge of a proton is equal in magnitude but opposite in sign to that of an electron.
2. How do the numbers of protons in the atomic nucleus compare to the number of electrons that orbit the nucleus?
The numbers of protons in the atomic nucleus is equal to the number of electrons that orbit the nucleus in a neutral atom. This is due to the concept of electrical neutrality.
In an atom, the positively charged protons are located in the nucleus, which is the central part of the atom. Electrons, on the other hand, are negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus in specific energy levels or shells.
For an atom to be electrically neutral, the positive charge of protons cancels out the negative charge of electrons. Therefore, the number of protons (which determines the element) is equal to the number of electrons in the atom as long as there are no additional charges present (such as in ions).
To find the number of protons in an atom, you can refer to the periodic table. The atomic number of an element corresponds to the number of protons in its nucleus. For example, carbon (C) has 6 protons, so it also has 6 electrons in a neutral atom.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.