Question

but what about those other two particles? can they change? lets look at carbon again. the atomic number for carbon is ___. this means that it has _____ protons. the particle chart shows that i have neutrons. the chart also shows that i have __ electrons.

Explanation:

• In the periodic table, the atomic number is given at the top left of the element's box. For carbon (\(C\)), it's \(6\).
• The atomic number equals the number of protons. So carbon has \(6\) protons.
• Looking at the particle chart, the number of neutrons shown is \(6\).
• In a neutral atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons. So carbon has \(6\) electrons.

Answer:

The atomic number for carbon is \(6\). This means that it has \(6\) protons. The particle chart shows that I have \(6\) neutrons. The chart also shows that I have \(6\) electrons.