The element sodium has an atomic number of 11 and a mass number of 23. How many protons, neutrons, and electrons does one atom contain?
A.
11 protons, 11 electrons, 12 neutrons
B.
11 protons, 12 electrons, 11 neutrons
C.
11 protons, 11 electrons, 23 neutrons
D.
23 protons, 23 electrons, 11 neutrons
A. 11 protons, 11 electrons, 12 neutrons
The correct answer is A.
An element's atomic number is equal to the number of protons it has. In this case, sodium has an atomic number of 11, so it has 11 protons.
The mass number of an element is equal to the sum of its protons and neutrons. So, if sodium has a mass number of 23, and it has 11 protons, then the number of neutrons can be calculated by subtracting the atomic number from the mass number.
23 (mass number) - 11 (atomic number) = 12 neutrons
Lastly, the number of electrons in a neutral atom is equal to the number of protons. Since sodium has 11 protons, it also has 11 electrons.
So, one atom of sodium contains 11 protons, 11 electrons, and 12 neutrons.
To determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom of sodium with an atomic number of 11 and a mass number of 23, we need to understand some fundamental concepts.
The atomic number represents the number of protons in an atom. So, since sodium has an atomic number of 11, there are 11 protons in one atom of sodium.
The mass number represents the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom. So, if the mass number of sodium is 23, we subtract the atomic number (11 protons) from the mass number to find the number of neutrons. In this case, 23 - 11 = 12 neutrons.
Finally, to find the number of electrons, we can use the fact that atoms are electrically neutral, meaning they have an equal number of protons and electrons. Therefore, in an atom of sodium with 11 protons, there are also 11 electrons.
Based on these explanations:
A. 11 protons, 11 electrons, 12 neutrons is the correct answer.