What would be the result of removing or adding one proton from an atom of gold ?
The atomic number of the element would change. It would not be gold anymore. Adding 1 proton increases the atomic number by 1, etc.. The isotope of the new element formed may be radioactive. (You can check this by using a radionuclide table).
Removing or adding one proton to an atom of gold would indeed result in a different element. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines its atomic number, and each element has a unique atomic number. Gold has an atomic number of 79, which means it has 79 protons.
If you were to remove one proton from a gold atom, it would result in an element with an atomic number of 78, which is platinum. The resulting atom would have different chemical properties and characteristics compared to gold.
On the other hand, adding one proton to a gold atom would increase its atomic number to 80, which is mercury. Again, the resulting atom would have different properties than gold.
It's worth noting that changing the atomic number of an element can also affect its stability. Some isotopes (variants of an element with different numbers of neutrons) may become radioactive when their atomic number changes. To determine if the resulting element is radioactive, you can refer to a radionuclide table, which provides information on the stability and radioactive properties of various isotopes.