Question

An atom has 6 electrons, 6 protons, and 6 neutrons. you can tell that this atom belongs to the element _____ because _____________________.

Answer 1

The identity of the element always depends on the number of protons. In this case, since the atom has 6 protons, it must have an atomic number of 6. Therefore, this atom belongs to the element Carbon because it has an atomic number of 6.

The number of protons + neutrons (6 + 6 = 12) will indicate the atomic mass of the element. Meanwhile, the number of protons minus the number of electrons determines the charge of the atom (in this case, 6 - 6 = 0, so this is a neutrally charged atom).