Question

15 POINTS PLEASE HELP

In the picture of the atom above, what subatomic particle does the letter A represent?


Question 1 options:


Proton


Neutron


Electron

Answer 1

Electron

Step-by-step explanation:

See attached figure (it was missing in the question).

An atom consists of three types of particle:

- Proton: it is positively charged (charge
`+e = +1.6\cdot 10^(-19) C`) and it is located in the nucleus. Its mass is approximately
`1.67\cdot 10^(-27) kg`

- Neutron: it has no electric charge, and it is also located in the nucleus. Its mass is just slighly larger than that of the proton (but it is also approximated to
`1.67\cdot 10^(-27) kg`)

- Electron: it is negatively charged (charge
`-e = -1.6\cdot 10^(-19) C`) and it orbits around the nucleus. Its mass is much smaller than that of the proton (
`m_e = 9.11 \cdot 10^(-31) kg`)

From the figure, we see that the only particle orbiting around the nucleus is particle A: therefore, A must be an electron.