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Home Concept Builders Elements, Atoms, and Ions Isotopes Help Help 6

Isotopes - Questions 6 Help

Atoms consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons (+) and electrons (-) are the charged particles in the atom. When there are unequal numbers of protons and electrons in an atom, the atom has an overall charge. A charged atom is known as an ion.

An ion can be positively-charged or negatively-charged. The amount of charge on an ion can be determined by comparing the number of protons (the + charges) to the number of electrons (the - charges). If an atom has two more protons than electrons, then the ion charge is +2 ... more conventionally called 2+. And if an atom has three more electrons than protons, it is said to be a 3- charge.

There is just one question in this Question Group. Each time the question appears, the answer options are presented in a scrambled order.
 

Version 1:
The charge of an ion is equal to _____.
the number of neutrons
the number of electrons
the number of protons minus the number of neutrons
the number of protons minus the number of electrons
the number of neutrons minus the number of electrons

As in any course, your Chemistry course will likely include some fundamental knowledge that you will just need to know. Progress in the course will be built upon such knowledge. This question assesses your understanding of ions and ion charges. In the third activity of this Concept Builder, you will have to use the information to answer questions.

If you read the Fundamentals section above, you will find what you need to know to answer this question correctly. But before you go answer the question, we suggest that you make a note in an accessible location that you can refer to often in an effort to internalize this fundamental concept.

Concept Builder Teacher Notes Directions