Question

sergio wants to draw a diagram of a neutral oxygen atom with a mass number of 16. use the drop - down menus below to identify how many protons and neutrons should appear in the diagram. the diagram should include protons and neutrons.

Explanation:

Step1: Determine the number of protons

The atomic number of oxygen is 8. For a neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the atomic number. So, the number of protons \( p = 8\).

Step2: Calculate the number of neutrons

The mass number \(A\) is given by the formula \(A=p + n\), where \(p\) is the number of protons and \(n\) is the number of neutrons. Given \(A = 16\) and \(p=8\), we can solve for \(n\) using the formula \(n=A - p\). Substituting the values, we get \(n=16 - 8=8\).

Answer:

The diagram should include \(8\) protons and \(8\) neutrons.