Question

How many electrons or protons are found in

a. +1 C of charge?
b.-1 C of charge?
C. -1.6 x 10-6 C of charge?​

Answer 1

a)
`6.25\cdot 10^(18)` protons

b)
`6.25\cdot 10^(18)` electrons

c) 1 electron

Step-by-step explanation:

a)

In this problem, the electric charge that we have is:

`Q=+1 C`

First of all, we observe that this charge is positive: this means that it will consist of protons.

In fact, protons are positively charged particles that reside in the nuclei of the atoms. The charge of one proton is

`q_p = +1.6\cdot 10^(-19)C`

which is also known as fundamental charge.

Therefore, we can write the charge Q as consisting of the charge of several protons:

`Q=N q_p`

where N is the number of protons.

And solving for N,

`N=(Q)/(q_p)=(+1)/(+1.6\cdot 10^(-19))=6.25\cdot 10^(18)`

b)

Here the total charge is

`Q=-1C`

The total charge here is negative: this means that it consists of electrons. Electrons are negatively charged particles that orbit around the nucleus in an atom; the charge of one electron is

`q_e = -1.6\cdot 10^(-19)C`

So, its charge is opposite to that of the proton.

Therefore, we can write the charge Q as the sum of the charges of N electrons:

`Q=Nq_e`

Where N is the number of electrons.

And solving for N, we find:

`N=(Q)/(q_e)=(-1)/(-1.6\cdot 10^(-19))=6.25\cdot 10^(18)`

c)

In this case, the total net charge is

`Q=-1.6\cdot 10^(-19) C`

As in part b), we notice that the total charge is negative. Therefore, it will consist of N electrons (negatively charged particles), such that we have

`Q=Nq_e`

where

`q_e = -1.6\cdot 10^(-19)C` is the charge of one electron

N is the number of electrons

And solving for N, we find:

`N=(Q)/(q_e)=(-1.6\cdot 10^(-19))/(-1.6\cdot 10^(-19))=1`

So, 1 electron.