question archive The tells us how many protons are in the nucleus for any given element
The tells us how many protons are in the nucleus for any given element
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The tells us how many protons are in the nucleus for any given element.
Oxygen is atomic number 8.
Therefore, its nucleus contains 8 protons.
Protons are positively charged. One proton has a charge of ##+1##. In order for the atom to be in a neutral state, we need something to counter the charge of the proton. So we have electrons, which are negatively charged. One electron has a charge of ##-1##.
So the atomic number not only tells us the number of protons in an atom, but also the number of electrons.
Oxygen has 8 protons, and 8 electrons.
