Question
Question: How does a proton differ from an electron?...
How does a proton differ from an electron?
Solution
We know that an atom is made up of three important components. They are electron, proton and neutron. The nucleus of an atom is made up of neutrons and protons .Nucleus is the core part of the atom. Neutrons, protons and electrons are different from each other and they have different characteristics.
Complete step by step solution:
We already know that protons are very different from the electrons. Electrons are negatively charged particles, but protons are positively charged particles. The magnitude of the charge of an electron and a proton is the same, which is 1.6×10−19C. Electrons revolve around the nucleus of an atom in discrete orbits but the protons reside inside the nucleus of the atom. The mass of an electron is 9.1×10−31Kg, but the mass of a proton is 1.67×10−27Kg. The mass of the proton is around 1836 times the mass of electrons. The number of electrons and protons of a neutral atom is always the same so that the charge is neutral. From the above explanation it is clear to us that electrons and protons differ with each other in terms of their sign of charge, mass and position .
Additional information:
The mass of neutrons are almost equal to that of the protons. Neutrons and protons reside inside the nucleus. The charge of neutrons is zero. Neutrons don’t have any charge. The number of electrons and number of protons is always equal to the atomic number of the atom.
Note:
Always remember that the atomic number of an atom is equal to the number of protons and the number of electrons. Electrons and protons have the same magnitude of charge but they have opposite signs. The mass of the proton is 1836 times the electrons.