Science 8 13.3 Atomic Number and Mass Number

Lesson 13.
Atomic Number and Mass

Number
determine the number of
Objectives 1 protons, neutrons, and
electrons in an atom; and
At the end
of the
lesson, you determine the atomic
should be 2 number and mass number
able to: of an atom.
Learn about It!
Atomic Number
• Atomic number is the number of protons in an atom.
• It is represented by the symbol Z.
• In a neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the
number of electrons.
• Therefore the atomic number also shows the number of
electrons present in a neutral atom.
Learn about It!
Atomic Number
Number of Number of Atomic
Element
protons (p) electrons (e) number (Z)
helium 2 2 2
lithium 3 3 3
beryllium 4 4 4
boron 5 5 5
carbon 6 6 6
Learn about It!
Atomic Number
• As shown in the previous table, each element has a
unique atomic number.
• No two elements can have the same atomic number.
• This means that the atomic number can determine the
identity of an atom.
Learn about It!
Mass Number
• Mass number refers to the total number of protons and
neutrons in an atom.
• It is represented by the symbol A.
• Recall that the mass of the protons and neutrons are
extremely larger than that of the electron.
Learn about It!
Mass Number
Relative mass
Subatomic Location in Relative
Symbol (in atomic
particle the atom charge
mass unit)
proton inside the p +1 1
neutron nucleus n 0 1
outside the 1 .
electron e -1
nucleus 1840
Learn about It!
Mass Number
• Generally, the mass number can be determined by using
the formula below:
where A is the mass number, p is the number of protons

and n is the number of neutrons.
Learn about It!
Mass Number
• Since the atomic number Z, is equal to the number of
protons, the formula can be written as:
where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number and

n is the number of neutrons.
Learn about It!
Mass Number
• From the given equations, the number of neutrons can be
obtained by taking the diﬀerence between the mass
number and atomic number as shown below.
where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number and

n is the number of neutrons.
Learn about It!
Atomic numbers and mass numbers

Number
Number of Number of Atomic Mass
of
Element electrons neutrons number number
protons
(e) (n) (Z) (A)
(p)
helium 2 2 2 2 4
lithium 3 3 4 3 7
beryllium 4 4 5 4 9
boron 5 5 6 5 11
carbon 6 6 6 6 12
Learn about It!
Chemical Symbols
• When elements are represented in symbols, the atomic
number and mass number are included.
The general symbol for an atom consisting of its mass number and atomic
number.
Learn about It!
Chemical Symbols
• Aluminum, for example, has 13 protons and 14 neutrons.
It is represented as:
Learn about It!
Chemical Symbols
• In some cases, only the mass number is included, as seen
below:
• For simplicity, aluminum can also be written as

aluminum-27 to indicate its mass number.
Try it!
Determine the atomic number and the mass

number of silver (Ag), given its chemical symbol.
Try it! Solution

Step 1: Identify the atomic number directly from the given
chemical symbol.
Recall that the upper number in a chemical symbol of an element

represents the mass number, while the lower number represents
the atomic number.
From the given element symbol, the atomic number is 47.
Try it! Solution

Step 2: Identify the mass number directly from the given
chemical symbol.

the atomic number.
From the given element symbol, the mass number is 108.
Silver has an atomic number of 47 and has an atomic mass of
108.
Try it!
Determine the number of protons and number
of electrons in mercury. Its chemical symbol is
given below.
Try it! Solution
given below.
Step 1: Identify the atomic number directly from the given
chemical symbol.

the atomic number.
From the given element symbol, the atomic number is 80.
Try it! Solution
given below.
Step 2: Identify the number of proton and number of electron
from the value of the atomic number.
The number of proton is equivalent to the atomic number. Hence,
for mercury, the number of proton is also 80.
Similarly, for a neutral atom, the number of proton is equal to the
number of electron. Hence, for mercury, the number of electron is
also equal to 80.
Mercury has 80 electrons and 80 protons

Try it!
Determine the number of neutrons in antimony.

Its chemical symbol is given below.
Try it! Solution

Step 1: Identify the atomic number and mass number directly
from the given chemical symbol.

the atomic number.
From the given element symbol, the atomic number is 51 and the
mass number is 122.
Try it! Solution

Step 2: Identify the number of neutron by transforming the
equation for the atomic mass.
The equation for the atomic mass given the atomic number and
number of neutron is
Then, we can rearrange the equation to isolate the number of

neutron, n, on one side of the equation.
Try it! Solution

Step 2: Identify the number of neutron by transforming the
equation for the atomic mass.
Using this equation, we can calculate the number of neutron as

follows
Hence, there are 71 neutrons in antimony.

Key Points
The atomic number (Z) of an atom refers to the

1 number of protons. Atoms of each element have a
unique atomic number.
For a neutral atom, the number of proton is equivalent

2 to the number of electron.
The mass number (A) of an atom refers to the total

3 number of protons and neutrons in an atom. This can
be determined using the equation
Check Your Understanding
Complete the table below. The ﬁrst item is given as an

example.
atom p n e Z A
nitrogen 7 7 7 7 14
chlorine 17 18 17
calcium 20 20 20
titanium 22 26 22
Challenge Yourself
How important are the atomic number and mass

number in investigating atoms?
Bibliography
Chang, Raymond. 2008. General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tan Yin Toon, et al. 2013. Chemistry Matters 2nd Edition. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Education.
“Isotopes and Radioactivity Tutorial.” Accessed August 21, 2017.
http://eesc.columbia.edu/courses/ees/lithosphere/labs/lab12/radioisotope_tutorial.html
Indiana University Northwest. “Rutherford’s Planetary Model of the Atom.” Accessed August 21, 2017.
http://www.iun.edu/~cpanhd/C101webnotes/modern-atomic-theory/rutherford-model.html
Indiana University Northwest. “Dalton’s Atomic Theory.” Accessed August 19, 2017.
http://www.iun.edu/~cpanhd/C101webnotes/composition/dalton.html
Purdue University. “The Structure of the Atom.” Accessed August 20, 2017.
http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch6/atom_emrframe.html
New York University. “Structure of the Atom.” Accessed August 19, 2017.
https://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/atoms.html

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Lesson 13.

Atomic Number and Mass

where A is the mass number, p is the number of protons

where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number and

where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number and

Atomic numbers and mass numbers

• For simplicity, aluminum can also be written as

Determine the atomic number and the mass

Determine the atomic number and the mass

Recall that the upper number in a chemical symbol of an element

Determine the atomic number and the mass

Recall that the upper number in a chemical symbol of an element

Recall that the upper number in a chemical symbol of an element

Mercury has 80 electrons and 80 protons

Determine the number of neutrons in antimony.

Determine the number of neutrons in antimony.

Recall that the upper number in a chemical symbol of an element

Determine the number of neutrons in antimony.

Then, we can rearrange the equation to isolate the number of

Determine the number of neutrons in antimony.

Using this equation, we can calculate the number of neutron as

Hence, there are 71 neutrons in antimony.

The atomic number (Z) of an atom refers to the

For a neutral atom, the number of proton is equivalent

The mass number (A) of an atom refers to the total

Complete the table below. The ﬁrst item is given as an

How important are the atomic number and mass

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