I'm trying to find the number of protons and neutrons for Carbon-14. The mass number is twelve, but how do you determine the protons and the neutrons, and what are they? Thanks!
Look at a periodic table. The # protons is the same as the atomic number of the element, 6 for carbon. The number of protons is the difference between the mass number and the number of protons. So # neutrons = 14-6=8.
C-14 has 6 protons, 8 neutrons, 6 electrons.
To find the number of protons and neutrons in an atom of Carbon-14, it is important to understand the composition of an atom.
The atomic number of an element corresponds to the number of protons it contains. In the case of Carbon, the atomic number is 6. This means a Carbon atom always has 6 protons.
The mass number represents the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. In this case, Carbon-14 has a mass number of twelve. Since the atomic number of Carbon is 6, subtracting 6 from the mass number will give you the number of neutrons.
So, to find the number of neutrons:
Neutrons = Mass number - Atomic number
Neutrons = 12 - 6 = 6
Therefore, Carbon-14 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons.