An atom W has 17 electrons and 18 neutrons. Which of the following representations of the atom is correct?

Answer Details

The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of that element. Since the atom W has 17 electrons, it must also have 17 protons to balance the electrical charge. Therefore, its atomic number is 17. The atomic mass number of an atom is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. We are told that atom W has 18 neutrons, so its atomic mass number is 17 + 18 = 35. Therefore, the correct representation of the atom W is ³⁵₁₇W, where the superscript indicates the atomic mass number and the subscript indicates the atomic number.