Answer to Question #119092 in General Chemistry for Celena F Garcia

Question

A carbon atom has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 5 electrons. What is the charge of this atom (ion)?

Answer 1

Answer:It is known that an atom is an electrically neutral particle, that is, positive charges must be fully compensated by negative charges. In an atom, protons are carriers of positive charges; carriers of negative charges are electrons; protons have no charge. In our case, an atom has 6 neutrons that do not carry a charge; 6 protons, that is, a charge of +6; and 5 electrons, that is, a charge of -5. Then the charge of the carbon ion will be: +6 -5 = +1.