Final answer:
A neutral neon atom contains 10 electrons, with the first 2 electrons in the first energy level and the remaining 8 in the second energy level. The atomic number of neon, which is 10, determines this.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the number of electrons present in a neon atom. Neon (Ne) has an atomic number of 10, which tells us that a neutral neon atom contains 10 protons.
Since the overall charge of a neutral atom must be zero, the number of electrons must equal the number of protons.
Therefore, a neutral neon atom contains 10 electrons. It's also noted that these electrons are arranged in energy levels, with the first 2 electrons in the first energy level and the remaining 8 electrons in the second energy level.
Regarding the average atomic mass of neon, which is 20.18 amu, this value considers the natural abundance of its isotopes.
Neon has three naturally occurring isotopes: Ne-20, Ne-21, and Ne-22. These isotopes have different numbers of neutrons but always have 10 protons and, in a neutral atom, 10 electrons.