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Which of the following statements is not true?

a) Protons are positively charged
b) Neutrons have no charge
c) Electrons have a mass of 1 atomic mass unit
d) The atomic number is equal to the number of protons

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The statement that is not true is c) Electrons have a mass of 1 atomic mass unit. Electrons are much lighter than protons and neutrons, which have masses close to 1 amu. Electrons have a mass of only 0.00055 amu.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that is not true among the given options is c) Electrons have a mass of 1 atomic mass unit (amu). Protons and neutrons have a mass that is approximately equal to 1 amu, with protons at about 1.0073 amu and neutrons at around 1.0087 amu. On the other hand, electrons are much lighter with a mass of only 0.00055 amu. Therefore, electrons do not have a mass of 1 amu.

The atomic number is indeed equal to the number of protons in an atom, making the statement d) true. The positive charge on a proton is equal in magnitude to the negative charge on an electron, and given that a neutral atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, this makes statements a) and b) true as well.

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