Question

How to we know how many neutrons are in the atoms we draw models for ? (We represent average atoms, not ions or isotopes)

Answer 1

Atoms is the smallest unit of a chemical element and consist of three main components protons, neutrons, and electrons.

The number of a neutron is based on the difference between the mass number of the atom (M) and the atomic number (Z). every isotope of an element has a different number of neutron.

But in a neutral atom or average atom, the number of neutrons is equal to the number of protons and the number of electron.

Example of the number of neutrons in an average atom: In Nitrogen-14, the atomic number and the number of protons is 7, it means the number of neutrons will also 7.