Question

An amoeba has 2.55 × 10¹6 protons and a net charge of 0.320 pC. What is the charge of a single proton?

a) 1.25 × 10⁻19 C
b) 1.50 × 10⁻19 C
c) 2.00 × 10⁻19 C
d) 2.55 × 10⁻19 C

Answer 1

The correct option is A. The charge of a single proton is calculated by dividing the amoeba's total net charge by the number of protons it has. After converting the total net charge from picoCoulombs to Coulombs and performing the calculation, we find the charge per proton is 1.25 × 10⁻¹⁹ C, matching answer option (a).

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the charge of a single proton, we can start by using the information given about the amoeba's net charge and the number of protons it has. The charge of a proton is a known physical constant, but we'll calculate it based on the provided data as if we were unaware of this constant. If an amoeba has 2.55 × 10¹⁶ protons and a net charge of 0.320 pC (picoCoulombs), we can determine the charge of one proton.

Firstly, we need to convert the net charge from picoCoulombs to Coulombs to get the charge in standard units.

1 pC = 1 × 10⁻¹⁲ C

So, 0.320 pC = 0.320 × 10⁻¹⁲ C

Next, divide the total charge by the number of protons to find the charge per proton:

Charge per proton = Total charge / Number of protons

Charge per proton = (0.320 × 10⁻¹⁲ C) / (2.55 × 10¹⁶)

After performing the calculation, we get:

Charge per proton = 1.25 × 10⁻¹⁹

Thus, the charge of a single proton would be 1.25 × 10⁻¹⁹ C, which corresponds to answer option (a).