Question

What are the numbers of subatomic particles in Na?

Answer 1

The number of protons is equal to the atomic number and the mass number is equal to the sum of the number of protons and the number of Neutrons. One calculates the number of subatomic particles of an element using the atomic and mass number.

Complete Step by step answer:
We have to know that the three major subatomic particles present in an atom are,
- Proton- Positively charged particle
- Electron- Negatively charged particle.
- Neutrons- A particle with no charge because it has equal magnitude of positive and negative charge so the charge cancels each other.
From the atomic number we know that there are eleven electrons, eleven protons and from the mass number we can say the number of neutrons is twelve. By summing up the number of protons, electrons and neutrons it is said that sodium has thirty four subatomic particles.

Additional Information:
- In $1919$ protons were discovered by Ernest Rutherford. In his experiment named gold foil experiment he projected alpha particles and observed that the positive alpha particles were deflected. He named the deflected positive alpha particle as Proton.
- In$1897$ Electrons were discovered by Sir John Joseph Thomson. Electrons are present in the area surrounding the nucleus.
- In the year $1932$ James Chadwick discovered neutrons. Neutrons are present inside the core of an atom that is present along with protons in the nucleus.

Note: The atom consists of protons and neutrons, encircled by electrons in shells. The quantity of subatomic particles in a molecule can be determined from the iota's nuclear number and mass number.