How does the mass of a nucleon compare with the mass of an electron?
The proton and neutron have about 1900 times more mass than an electron.
To compare the mass of a nucleon (proton or neutron) with that of an electron, we need to look at their respective masses. The mass of an electron is approximately 9.1 x 10^-31 kilograms (kg), while the mass of a nucleon is approximately 1.7 x 10^-27 kg.
To find out how these masses compare, we can calculate the ratio between them. Divide the mass of a nucleon by the mass of an electron:
Ratio = (mass of a nucleon) / (mass of an electron)
= (1.7 x 10^-27 kg) / (9.1 x 10^-31 kg)
To make this division easier, we can rewrite the numbers in scientific notation:
Ratio = (1.7 / 9.1) x (10^-27 / 10^-31)
To divide the numbers, we divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents:
Ratio ≈ 0.1868 x 10^4
So, the ratio of the mass of a nucleon to the mass of an electron is approximately 0.1868 x 10^4. This means that the mass of a nucleon is about 18,680 times greater than the mass of an electron.