Question

Which of the following statements about atoms is false?

A. Each atom has a dense, positively charged nucleus and a cloud of negatively charged electrons, held in orbit by electrostatic attraction.
B. The nucleus of every atom except hydrogen consists of both positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons.
C. The number of protons in an atom determines its atomic number; the atomic weight equals the number of protons plus neutrons.
D. Protons, neutrons, and electrons are the smallest units of a chemical element that retain the distinctive chemical properties of that element

Answer 1

The false statement is that protons, neutrons, and electrons are the smallest units that retain the distinctive chemical properties of an element. An atom is in fact the smallest unit with those properties, due to its unique number of protons and arrangement of electrons.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that protons, neutrons, and electrons are the smallest units of a chemical element that retain the distinctive chemical properties of that element is false. Atoms are composed of these subatomic particles, but it is the atom itself that is the smallest unit of an element that maintains the element's properties. Protons and neutrons, located in the atom's nucleus, together with the electrons in the surrounding electron cloud, determine the chemical behavior of an atom. Moreover, while protons and neutrons provide most of an atom's mass, the distinctive chemical properties mostly come from the electrons, particularly those in the outermost shells that are involved in chemical bonding.

An atom's chemical characteristics are primarily governed by its number of protons, which is the element's atomic number. Heavier and lighter isotopes of an element have different numbers of neutrons but do not alter the chemical properties of the element. In summary, the atom is the fundamental unit of a chemical element that retains all the properties unique to that element.