Question

How many electrons, neutrons and protons would be found in an atom of carbon-14(atomic number= 6)?
(A) 6 electrons, 6 neutrons and 8 protons
(B) 6 electrons, 6 neutrons and 6 protons
(C) 8 electrons, 8 neutrons and 6 protons
(D) 6 electrons, 8 neutrons and 6 protons

Answer 1

Hint: Carbon-14 is an isotope of carbon. Isotopes have the same atomic number but their atomic masses are different from each other. Number of electrons and protons present in the element is always equal to the atomic number of the element.

Complete step by step answer:
- We know that atoms are the smallest unit of matter. An atom is made up of three subatomic particles: the proton, the neutron, and the electron. We should note that, nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. Neutrons are dense and positively charged atoms. The negatively charged electrons can be found around the nucleus in an electron cloud.
- The number of protons found in the nucleus equals the number of electrons that surround it, which is also equal to the atomic number of the corresponding element in the periodic table. The atomic mass of an element in a periodic table is equal to the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons.
Atomic Mass Number = Number of Protons in nucleus + Number of Neutrons in nucleus
-To solve this question, we should know about isotopes. The elements which have the same atomic number and different atomic mass are called isotope. Their different atomic mass is due to the different number of neutrons present in it. Atomic number or electrons or protons are equal in isotope.
-So, by using the above concept we will now solve this question. Carbon-14 means it is an isotope of carbon. For knowledge we should know that, there are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon: carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. The number in the carbon isotope show different atomic masses. So, carbon-14 has an atomic mass of 14, and it has the same atomic number as 6.
-So, we know that atomic number is equal to number of protons or atomic number is equal to number of electrons.
Atomic number= 6= Number of protons= Number of electrons.
And we know that, nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons. And we also know that the entire mass of an atom is in the nucleus.
Atomic Mass Number = Number of Protons in nucleus + Number of Neutrons in nucleus
Atomic mass=14
Protons= 6
Neutrons= atomic mass – proton
Neutrons=14-6
Neutrons=8
So, from the above discussion we can say that as follows:
Number of Protons: 6
Number of Electrons: 6
Number of Neutrons: 8

So option D is correct.

Note:
Do not get confused between isotopes, isobars and isotones. Isotopes have the same number of protons but their atomic masses are different. Isobars have the same atomic masses but the number of protons in their nucleus may differ. The atoms that have the same number of neutrons in the nucleus are called isotones.