Question

How will you determine the charge and the mass of a neutron?

Answer 1

Neutrons:

1. Neutrons are sub-atomic particles that are electrically neutral.
2. They are present in the nucleus of an atom.

Determination of charge of neutron:

1. Neutron is electrically neutral.
2. Thus, the charge on neutron is zero.

Determination of mass of neutron:

1. The mass of the neutron cannot be determined as there is no charge on it.
2. Mass of neutron is determined using a deuteron atom.
3. Deuteron is a positively charged particle containing one proton and one neutron.
4. Thus, the mass of neutron is determined by substracting the mass of proton form the mass of the nucleus of deuteron .
5. The absolute mass of the neutron is $1.6\times {10}^{-24}\mathrm{g}$.