The atomic number of carbon is 6, and its atomic mass is 12. How many are there protons in the nucleus of carbon?
(1) 6
(2) 12
(3) 18
(4) Zero
Answer: (1) There are six (6) protons in Carbon-12. The 12 refers to the number of protons plus the number of neutrons. There are 6 of each in carbon-12. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines an element’s atomic number. The mass number of an element is the total number of neutrons and the number of protons.
