The nucleon number and the proton number of a neutral atom of an element are 238 and 92 respectively. What is the number of neutrons in the atom?
Answer Details
The nucleon number of an atom is the sum of its protons and neutrons. Therefore, the number of neutrons in an atom can be calculated by subtracting the number of protons (also called the atomic number) from the nucleon number.
In this case, the nucleon number is given as 238 and the proton number (atomic number) is given as 92. Thus, the number of neutrons can be calculated as:
Number of neutrons = nucleon number - proton number
Number of neutrons = 238 - 92
Number of neutrons = 146
Therefore, the answer is 146.