Number of Protons and Neutrons

Number of Protons and Neutrons in all of the Elements


Number of Protons and Neutrons
This section provides details of the number of protons and neutrons in all of the elements in the Periodic Table.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - What is an Atom?
To understand the association between the number of Protons and Neutrons and an element we need to ask a basic question. What is an atom? Everything that takes up space (called Matter) has weight, volume and mass.

Matter is made up of tiny building blocks called Atoms. Atoms are tiny – at least 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair. The exact size of the atom changes, depending on the element.

 

Number of Protons and Neutrons - An Atom determines an Element
The purest type of atom is called an element. Atoms are composed of three kinds of smaller particles, called protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons are made up of even smaller particles called quarks. The number of protons, the number of neutrons and the number of electrons an atom has determines what the element it is.

  • Atoms are composed of 3 kinds of small particles: protons, neutrons and electrons

  • Atoms must have equal numbers of protons and electrons

The nucleus is in the middle of the atom and contains protons and neutrons. These smaller particles - the protons, neutrons and electrons - all have different properties.

Number of Protons and Neutrons

Number of Protons and Neutrons - What are Electrons?
A reminder of the definition before discovering how to calculate the numbers. Electrons are tiny, very light particles that have a negative electrical charge. Atoms must have equal numbers of protons and electrons.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - What are Protons?
Protons are much larger and heavier than electrons and have a positive charge. Atoms must have equal numbers of protons and electrons.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - What are Neutrons?
Neutrons are large and heavy like protons, however neutrons have no electrical charge.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - How to find the Atomic Number of an element
Every element has a unique Element Symbol and a unique Atomic Number which can be accessed via the Periodic Table with Atomic Mass.

  • Definition: The atomic number is the number of protons in the atom of an element.

The periodic Table is a really important tool to Chemistry students enabling them to recognise the names of elements from their Atomic number. The chemical elements of the periodic table are listed in order of atomic number. You can also refer to the bottom of this page to an at-a-glance table of all the elements and their atomic numbers in numerical order.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - How to find the Number of Protons - Examples
The atomic number is based on the number of protons in the atom of an element. (Note: Atoms must also have equal numbers of protons and electrons.) So, if we know the atomic number of an element then we also know how many protons in an element.

  • Example 1 - Numbers of Protons in Gold: The element Gold (Symbol Au) has the Atomic Number of 79. Any atom that contains exactly 79 protons in its nucleus is an atom of gold. The number of protons in atom of gold is therefore 79.

  • Example 2 - Numbers of Protons in Silver: The element Silver (Symbol Ag) has the Atomic Number of 47. Any atom that contains exactly 47 protons in its nucleus is an atom of silver. The number of protons in atom of silver is therefore 47.

  • Example 3 - Numbers of Protons in Neon: The element Neon (Symbol Ne) has the Atomic Number of 10. Any atom that contains exactly 10 protons in its nucleus is an atom of gold. The number of protons in atom of gold is therefore 10.

Adding or removing protons from the nucleus of an atom creates a different element. For example, removing one proton from an atom of Gold creates an atom of Platinum (Platinum has the Atomic number 78 therefore the number of protons =78.) Adding one proton from an atom of Gold creates an atom of Mercury (Mercury has the Atomic number 80 therefore the number of protons =80.). Refer to the table below and work out the number of protons in various elements.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - How to find the Atomic Mass number
Calculating the number of neutrons in an atom or element is a little more complicated. For this calculation you need to establish the atomic weight from which you will be able to establish the Atomic Mass Number. The atomic weight or mass is, basically, a measurement of the total number of particles in an atom's nucleus. The atomic mass number is established by rounding the atomic weight to the nearest whole number. The Periodic Table with Atomic Mass will give you the atomic weight, or atomic mass, of the elements.

Atomic Mass Number = Atomic Weight of Element, rounded to nearest whole number

So, if we know the number of protons and neutrons in an atom (element) we can determine the Atomic Mass Number

  • Example 1 - Atomic Mass of Gold: The element Gold (Symbol Au) has the Atomic Number of 79. The number of protons in atom of gold is therefore 79. Gold has the Atomic Mass weight of 196.97. Round to the nearest whole number. The atomic mass number of gold is therefore 197.

  • Example 2 - Atomic Mass of Silver: The element Silver (Symbol Ag) has the Atomic Number of 47. The number of protons in atom of silver is therefore 47. Silver has the Atomic Mass weight of 107.87. Round to the nearest whole number. The atomic mass number of silver is therefore 108.

  • Example 3 - Atomic Mass of Neon: The element Neon (Symbol Ne) has the Atomic Number of 10. The number of protons in atom of neon is therefore 10. Neon has the Atomic Mass weight of 20.18. Round to the nearest whole number. The atomic mass number of neon is therefore 20.

Number of Protons and Neutrons - How to find the Number of Neutrons
We can identify the number of neutrons in an atom or element by using the information we already have.  To find the numbers of neutrons, subtract the atomic mass number from the atomic number.

Number of Neutrons = Mass Number - Atomic Number

  • Example 1 - The element Gold (Symbol Au). The atomic mass number of gold is 197 and has the Atomic Number of 79. The Numbers of Neutrons in Gold is 197 - 79 =  118

  • Example 2 - The element Silver (Symbol Ag). Number of Neutrons in Silver: The atomic mass no. of silver is 108 and has the Atomic Number of 47. The Numbers of Neutrons in Neon is 108 - 47 = 61

  • Example 3 - The element Neon (Symbol Ne). The atomic mass number of neon is 20 and has the Atomic no. of 10.  Numbers of Neutrons in Neon is 20 - 10 = 10

Adding or removing protons from the nucleus of an atom creates a different element but adding or removing neutrons from the nucleus of an atom does not create a different element. Compare the numbers of neutrons and protons in the chart below.

Numerical list of Atomic Numbers of Elements

Name of Element Symbol of ElementNumber of Protons
/ Electrons
Mass NumberAtomic NumberNumber of Neutrons
Hydrogen
Helium
Lithium
Beryllium
Boron
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Fluorine
Neon
Sodium
Magnesium
Aluminium
Silicon
Phosphorus
Sulfur
Chlorine
Argon
Potassium
Calcium
Scandium
Titanium
Vanadium
Chromium
Manganese
Iron
Cobalt
Nickel
Copper
Zinc
Gallium
Germanium
Arsenic
Selenium
Bromine
Krypton
Rubidium
Strontium
Yttrium
Zirconium
Niobium
Molybdenum
Technetium
Ruthenium
Rhodium
Palladium
Silver
Cadmium
Indium
Tin
Antimony
Tellurium
Iodine
Xenon
Cesium
Barium
Lanthanum
Cerium
Praseodymium
Neodymium
Promethium
Samarium
Europium
Gadolinium
Terbium
Dysprosium
Holmium
Erbium
Thulium
Ytterbium
Lutetium
Hafnium
Tantalum
Tungsten
Rhenium
Osmium
Iridium
Platinum
Gold
Mercury
Thallium
Lead
Bismuth
Polonium
Astatine
Radon
Francium
Radium
Actinium
Thorium
Protactinium
Uranium
Neptunium
Plutonium
Americium
Curium
Berkelium
Californium
Einsteinium
Fermium
Mendelevium
Nobelium
Lawrencium
Rutherfordium
Dubnium
Seaborgium
Bohrium
Hassium
Meitnerium
Darmstadtium
Roentgenium
Ununbium
Ununtrium
Ununquadium
Ununpentium
Ununhexium
Ununseptium
Ununoctium
H
He
Li
Be
B
C
N
O
F
Ne
Na
Mg
Al
Si
P
S
Cl
Ar
K
Ca
Sc
Ti
V
Cr
Mn
Fe
Co
Ni
Cu
Zn
Ga
Ge
As
Se
Br
Kr
Rb
Sr
Y
Zr
Nb
Mo
Tc
Ru
Rh
Pd
Ag
Cd
In
Sn
Sb
Te
I
Xe
Cs
Ba
La
Ce
Pr
Nd
Pm
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Dy
Ho
Er
Tm
Yb
Lu
Hf
Ta
W
Re
Os
Ir
Pt
Au
Hg
Tl
Pb
Bi
Po
At
Rn
Fr
Ra
Ac
Th
Pa
U
Np
Pu
Am
Cm
Bk
Cf
Es
Fm
Md
No
Lr
Rf
Db
Sg
Bh
Hs
Mt
Ds
Rg
Uub
Uut
Uuq
Uup
Uuh
Uus
Uuo
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
19
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
1
4
7
9
11
12
14
16
19
20
23
24
27
28
31
32
35
40
30
40
45
48
51
52
55
56
58
58
64
65
70
73
75
79
80
84
85
88
89
91
93
96
98
101
103
106
108
112
115
119
122
128
127
131
133
137
139
140
141
144
145
150
152
157
159
163
165
167
169
173
175
178
181
184
186
190
192
195
197
201
204
207
209
209
210
222
223
226
227
232
231
238
237
244
243
247
247
251
252
257
258
259
262
261
268
263
264
269
268
272
273
277
286
289
288
292
292
293
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
0
2
4
5
6
6
7
8
10
10
12
12
14
14
16
16
18
22
21
20
24
26
28
28
30
30
31
30
35
35
39
41
42
45
45
48
48
50
50
51
52
54
55
57
58
60
61
64
66
69
71
76
74
77
78
81
82
82
82
84
84
88
89
93
94
97
98
99
100
103
104
106
108
110
111
114
115
117
118
121
123
125
126
125
125
136
136
138
138
142
140
146
144
150
148
151
150
153
153
157
157
157
159
157
N/A
157
157
161
159
162
162
165
173
175
173
176
175
175
Name of Element (Alphabetical list)Symbol of ElementNumber of Protons
Electrons
Mass NumberAtomic NumberNumber of Neutrons

Numerical list of Atomic Numbers of Elements

 

Number of Protons and Neutrons

Protons and Neutrons and the Periodic Table - the most important chemistry reference there is,
and the cornerstone of science since 1869


 

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