Question

How many protons, neutrons, and electrons are in Calcium?

Answer 1

Number of subatomic particles of Calcium:

• The atomic number of Calcium is $20$ and the atomic mass number is 40.
• The atomic number of any element is represented by Z, so, for Calcium$\mathrm{Z}=20$.
• The atomic mass number is represented by A, so, for Calcium $\mathrm{A}=40$.
• To calculate the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons:
• The number of protons: The number of protons present in an atom is equal to the atomic number of the element. Thus, in Calcium there are $20$ protons are present.
• The number of electrons: In any neutral atom the number of protons and electrons are equal, hence, in calcium, there are $20$ electrons present in one atom.
• The number of neutrons: Atomic mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons. So, in Calcium the number of neutrons is,

$$\begin{gathered} \mathrm{Z}=\mathrm{number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{protons}+\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{neutrons} \\ 40=20+\mathrm{number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{neutrons} \\ \mathrm{number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{neutrons}=20 \end{gathered}$$

Therefore, the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons are 20, 20, and 40 respectively.