Atoms are made of extremely tiny particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons are in the centre of the atom, making up the nucleus. Electrons surround the nucleus. These three particles are compared with their properties and listed below.
Given below in a table is the comparison between protons, neutrons and electrons:
| They are positively charged | They are neutral | They are negatively charged |
| They are present in the nucleus of all atoms | They are present in the nucleus of all atoms except hydrogen | They are present in the outer shells within an atom and orbit the positively charged nucleus in well-defined orbits |
| The mass of the proton is taken as one unit and equals the mass of a neutron | The mass of the neutron is considered as one unit and it equals the mass of a proton | The mass of an electron is about 1/2000 times the mass of a hydrogen atom |
| A proton is represented as “p” | A neutron is represented as “n” | An electron is represented as “e” |
This is best