Question

Why is atom electrically neutral?
a.) It has the same number of neutrons and protons
b.) It has the same number of neutrons and electrons
c.) It has the same number of protons and electrons
d.) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: An atom: It is defined as a particle of matter that consists of a positively charged nucleus with the electrons revolving around it in a fixed orbit.

Complete answer:
Many theories came to describe an atom that consists of Dalton’s theory of an atom, According to which, all matter, whether an element, a compound, or a mixture is composed of small particles called atoms. But atoms are further divided into electrons, protons, and neutrons.
Protons and Neutrons belong to a class of particles called Baryons, which is made up of quarks.
Electrons have a place with a class of particles called Leptons, which are viewed as basic particles, implying that, to the extent, we know at this moment, electrons are not made out of anything littler, they simply exist.
Proton: It is the positively charged particle situated inside the nucleus.
Neutron: It is the neutrally charged particle that is also present inside the nucleus along with the protons.
Electron: These are the smallest, contrarily charged particles that rotate around the core. It experiences a centripetal force that doesn't let it escape from its orbit/shell.
Hence, we can say that an atom is electrically neutral as the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons due to which positive and negative charge cancels each other out and the atom as a whole becomes electrically neutral.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note: The possibility to make a mistake is that you may choose option B. But as we discussed neutrons are neutral they don’t carry any charge, so they will not neutralize the negative charge of electrons, hence protons are needed.