A student is given a printed inventory for a spacecraft water-recycling unit. The unit uses a small amount of silver compound to reduce microbial growth. Fi...
Question 1 Report
A student is given a printed inventory for a spacecraft water-recycling unit. The unit uses a small amount of silver compound to reduce microbial growth. Fig. 1 shows a simplified atom model for silver with shells represented by rings. The outer-shell count is not required. The inventory also includes an unknown silver ion detected in the water. The student uses proton and electron numbers to identify its charge.
(a) What is the atomic number of silver? [1]
(b) Give the number of electrons in a neutral silver atom. [1]
(c) Name the particle responsible for the negative charge in an atom. [1]
(d) Use 47 protons and 46 electrons to give the charge on the silver ion. [1]
(e) Complete the ion symbol: Ag___ . [1]
(f) Suggest why the silver ion and silver atom are the same element. [1]
Answer Details
(a) Silver has atomic number 47, equal to its proton number. [1]
(b) A neutral silver atom has 47 electrons, matching its 47 protons. [1]
(c) The negatively charged particle is an electron. [1]
(d) With 47 protons and 46 electrons, there is one more positive charge than negative charge. The ion has charge 1+. [1]
(e) The ion symbol is \(\mathrm{Ag^+}\). [1]
(f) The silver ion and silver atom are the same element because both have 47 protons. Forming an ion changes electrons, not proton number. [1]
Download The App On Google Playstore
Everything you need to excel in your exams
