Short Explanation: If an atom loses electrons or gains protons, it will have a net positive charge and is called a Cation. If an atom gains electrons or loses protons, it will have a net negative charge and is called an Anion.
How does an atom lose protons?
There are only two ways that an atom can lose one or more protons, and both ways give out energy. The first is radioactive alpha decay, a natural process and the second is nuclear fission. Alpha decay - An unstable nuclei breaks down into a more stable nuclei by emitting 2 protons and 2 neutrons, which is known as an alpha particle.
Can an atom gain or lose an electron?
An atom that gains or loses an electron becomes an ion. If it gains a negative electron, it becomes a negative ion. If it loses an electron it becomes a positive ion (see page 10 for more on ions). Also asked, can protons be gained or lost? Atoms consist of a dense, positively charged nucleus that contains protons and neutrons.
How does the number of protons affect the atomic number?
Since the atomic number is the number of protons, the gain or loss of a proton results in the creation of a different element.
What happens when an atom of carbon 12 gains a proton?
Answer and Explanation: If an atom of carbon-12 gains a proton it will become an atom of nitrogen-13. If the atom gains a proton, it changes its element classification.
What would happen if an atom lost or gained a proton?
Adding or removing protons from the nucleus changes the charge of the nucleus and changes that atom's atomic number. So, adding or removing protons from the nucleus changes what element that atom is! For example, adding a proton to the nucleus of an atom of hydrogen creates an atom of helium.
What happens to an atom when it gains or loses electron?
If an atom gains electrons, it's overall charge becomes negative. If an atom loses electrons, it's overall charge becomes positive. If an atom gains/loses electrons, its mass will not change.
What happens to an atom if we lose or gain protons neutrons or electrons?
Cation & Anion - If we lose or gain electrons, we will have a charged atom called an ion. Atoms that lose electrons will have a positive charge and are called cations. Atoms that gain electrons would have a negative charge and are called anions.
What happens when you gain or lose a neutron?
If an atom were to gain or lose neutrons it becomes an isotope. Remember the hydrogen atom I mentioned earlier. It did not have a neutron attached to its proton. If it gains a neutron it become an isotope called deuterium.
When an atom loses or gains electrons it becomes a charged particle called an ion?
If an atom loses or gains electrons, it will become a positively or negatively charged particle, called an ion. The loss of one or more electrons results in more protons than electrons and an overall positively charged ion, called a cation.