What is the total number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a mercury, Hg, atom that has a mass number of 201?
Look on the periodic table. The atomic number is the number of protons.
The number of electrons is the same as the number of protons.
The number of neutrons is calculated this way.
number of protons + number of neutrons = mass number which in this case is 201.
Total number = #protons + #neutrons + #electrons
To determine the total number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a mercury (Hg) atom with a mass number of 201, we need to understand the composition of an atom.
The atomic number of an element represents the number of protons in its nucleus, while the mass number represents the total number of protons and neutrons.
For mercury (Hg), the atomic number is 80, which means it has 80 protons.
To calculate the number of neutrons, we subtract the atomic number from the mass number:
Number of neutrons = mass number - atomic number
Number of neutrons = 201 - 80 = 121
Since atoms are electrically neutral, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons. Therefore, there are 80 electrons in a mercury atom with a mass number of 201.
To summarize:
- Total number of protons (atomic number) = 80
- Total number of neutrons = 121
- Total number of electrons = 80
To determine the total number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a mercury (Hg) atom with a mass number of 201, we'll need to gather some information.
1. Determine the atomic number: The atomic number of an element corresponds to the number of protons in its nucleus. For mercury (Hg), the atomic number is 80.
2. Calculate the number of neutrons: The mass number of an atom is equal to the sum of its protons and neutrons. In this case, the mass number of mercury is 201. Since the atomic number is 80 (number of protons), we subtract this from the mass number to find the number of neutrons. So, the number of neutrons would be 201 - 80 = 121.
3. Find the number of electrons: In a neutral atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons. Therefore, for mercury (Hg) with an atomic number of 80, the number of electrons would also be 80.
So, the total number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a mercury (Hg) atom with a mass number of 201 is as follows:
- Protons: 80
- Neutrons: 121
- Electrons: 80