Question

sarah wants to draw a diagram of an iron (fe) atom. the atom she intends to draw has a mass number of 56. how many protons and neutrons should sarah include in her diagram?
a 26 protons and 30 neutrons
b 56 protons and 56 neutrons
c 30 protons and 26 neutrons
d 26 protons and 56 neutrons

Explanation:

• Protons: The atomic number of iron (Fe) is 26. The atomic number is equal to the number of protons in an atom. So, the number of protons in an Fe atom is 26.
• Neutrons: The mass number of an atom is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons. Given the mass number is 56. Using the formula \( \text{Number of neutrons}=\text{Mass number}-\text{Number of protons}\), we substitute the values: \(56 - 26=30\).

Answer:

A. 26 protons and 30 neutrons