Question
Question: How many neutrons are present in a stable atom of Ag?...
How many neutrons are present in a stable atom of Ag?
Solution
The symbol Ag is of chemical element silver. The atomic number of stable atoms of silver Ag is 47. The number of neutrons is calculated by subtracting the mass number of the atom with the atomic number.
Complete step by step answer:
The atoms combine to form a chemical element. The atom consists of a nucleus and negative charge electrons are surrounding the nucleus. The nucleus is composed of one or more than one proton and number of neutrons.
The atomic number of the atom is denoted by Z which is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus present in the atom. The number of electrons in the neutral atom is the same as the number of protons. The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons present in the nucleus.
The number of neutrons present in the nucleus is equal to the difference between the mass number of atom (M) and the atomic number (Z).
The formula is shown below.
Numberofneutron=massnumber−atomicnumber
Ag is the chemical symbol of the silver atom. The atomic number (Z) of Ag is 47. The mass number of silver Ag is 107.8682
The number of neutrons of silver Ag is calculated as shown below.
⇒Numberofneutrons=107.8682−47
⇒Numberofneutrons=60.868≈61
Therefore, the number of neutrons in silver Ag is 61.
Note:
The atomic mass of the atom is the average of the isotopes of the atom. Silver has two stable isotopes 107Ag and 109Ag. The number of neutrons of different isotopes of the atoms are different.