question

doxhund66 · Junior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 5 Location: here

i know this site is a lot more advanced than me (i'm only 8th grade Honors Embarassed

) but it would be really helpful is someone could answer this question---
How do you find the # of protons and neutrons in an element

it would be great if someone could help me out. what i REALLY need 2 know is the # of protons/neutrons in Radium Confused

, that's the element i picked for my project. my science teacher explained all this, i just took really messy notes Sad

, and now i can't read them. ALL help is appreciated! Very Happy

thx.

doxhund66 · Junior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 5 Location: here

yes i know the above is a stupid question, and i know that the answer is on the little block for each element on the periodic table. i swear, i'm smarter than i sound, i just have memory issues and took messy notes, which i lost, btw. i know that the bottom atomic # is a total, (but of what?) and the # in the top left corner (radium is #88, but most of u prolly know that cause you're smart) is a total of electrons, and that the bottom # in the column on the right is valence electrons. i just REALLY need to know this. please. sorry i'm being so stupid about this.

Lou1024 · Regular Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 82

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium

Use Wikipedia for all your needs. I think the info you are looking for is on the right.

doxhund66 · Junior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 5 Location: here

i would use wikipedia, but i don't feel like i can trust it- why, you may ask? because i found on there that Shakespeare was born 3 years ago. not even kidding. oh, and i found that George Washington was born in 1966. now, tell me to trust Wikipedia. Exclamation

Lawsen Lew · Member Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 15

One will need to get a Periodic Table of elements. Wikipedia would be great to see pictures and to read about the elements. You do not need the web to learn about elements, if one is too poor to have computer access or none available. All your answers are on the Periodic Table of elements.

Take Radium for example, it has atomic number 88. The atomic numbers indicate two facts, the number of protons and number electrons in the element's neutral state, no charge, like an elemental atom.

Radium has 88 protons and 88 electrons. Some Periodic Tables have a column of numbers on the side of the box. These might be the number of electrons in each shell in a cloud of electrons surrounding the nucleus of the atom.

The number of neutrons is figured by subtracting the atomic weight with the atomic mass or weight. The number of electron mass might be insignificant.

226.0254 g/mol of Radium is the atomic weight and this comes from the Periodic Table, too.

226.0254 - 88 = 138.025 = 138 neutrons. We could not have 0.025 neutrons

Radium is a great neutron source, it gives off neutrons, therefore it is radioactive.

Conclusion: Radium has 88 protons and 88 neutrons and 138 neutrons.

Some elements have different oxidation states, that influence the number of electrons.

Some elements have different number of neutrons, thus that element has different isotopes with different atomic mass, weight in grams per mole. The mole is 6.023* 10^23 of something, atoms of the element. 226.0254 grams of radium have 6.023*10^23 radium atoms.

Please, try other elements for fun, better try all 110 of them. Do one per day and in 110 days, you will finished all of them. Some have variable oxidation states, different numbers of electrons and others have different isotopes giving you different numbers of neutrons.

You will be 110 days older and you will have 110 days less to live, too.

I wish this will be of help to you.

liyah · Probably a bot. Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

im only in 6th grade honors Embarassed

and i have this chemist thing i have 2 do should i study all night Question