How to find the Protons, Neutrons and Electrons for Silver?

How to find the Protons, Neutrons and Electrons for Silver?

Silver is a classified transition metal and its symbol is ‘Ag’. Silver is the 47th element of the periodic table so its atomic number is 47. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons and electrons in that element.

Therefore, a silver atom has forty-seven protons and forty-seven electrons. The number of neutrons in an atom can be determined by the difference between the atomic mass and the number of protons.

The difference between the mass number of the silver atom and the number of protons is sixty-one. Therefore, a silver atom has sixty-one neutrons. The number of neutrons depends on the isotope of the element. The silver atom has two stable isotopes.

Element Name	Silver
Symbol	Ag
Atomic number	47
Atomic weight (average)	107.87
Protons	47
Neutrons	61
Electrons	47
Group	11
Period	5
Block	d-block
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 18, 1
Electron configuration	[Kr] 4d10 5s1
Oxidation states	+1

This article discussed in detail how to easily find the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a silver atom.

Also discussed is the position of electrons, protons, and neutrons in an atom, the number of atomic masses, and the isotopes of silver. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know the details about this topic.

Where are the electrons, protons and neutrons located in an atom?

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that has no independent existence but is directly involved in chemical reactions as the smallest unit. Atoms are so small particles that they cannot be seen even under a powerful microscope.

The diameter of an atom of hydrogen is 0.1nm (1.0nm = 10-9m). So, if 1000 crore atoms of hydrogen are arranged side by side, it will be 1 meter long.

However, it has been possible to detect atoms by increasing the vision of a very powerful electron microscope by two million times. Numerous permanent and temporary particles exist in the atom.

Electrons, protons, and neutrons are located in the atom as permanent particles. Also, neutrino, antineutrino, positron, and mason are located in an atom as temporary particles.

Atoms can usually be divided into two parts. One is the nucleus and the other is the orbit. Experiments by various scientists have shown that the nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons.

The only exception is hydrogen, which has only protons in its nucleus but no neutrons. Electrons revolve around the nucleus in a specific orbit.

How to easily find the number of electrons, protons and neutrons in a silver atom?

Scientist Henry Gwynn Jefferies Mosle examined the X-ray spectrum of various elements from 1913-to 1914. The results of his experiments show that each element has a unique integer equal to the number of positive charges in the nucleus of that element.

He called that number the order of the atoms. Thus, the number of positive charges present in the nucleus of an element is called the atomic number of that element.

The atomic number of the element is expressed by ‘Z’. This number is equal to the serial number of the periodic table. We know that protons are located in the nucleus of an atom as a positive charge.

That is, the atomic number is the total number of protons. The atom is overall charge neutral. Therefore, the number of negatively charged electrons orbiting in its orbit is equal to the number of positively charged protons in the nucleus.

Atomic number (Z) = Number of charges in the nucleus (p)

How many protons does a silver atom have?

Protons are the permanent core particles of an atom. It resides in the center or nucleus of the atom. When a hydrogen atom removes an electron from its orbit, the positively charged particle that remains is called a proton. Hence, the proton is expressed by H+.

The relative mass of protons is 1, which is approximately equal to the mass of hydrogen (1.00757 amu). However, the actual mass of the proton is 1.6726 × 10−27 kg. That is, the mass of a proton is approximately 1837 times greater than the mass of an electron.

Proton is a positively charged particle. Its actual charge is +1.602 × 10−19 coulombs. The diameter of a proton particle is about 2.4 × 10−13 cm.

There are 118 elements in the periodic table and the 47th of these elements is silver. The elements in the periodic table are arranged according to their atomic number. Since silver is the 47th element of the periodic table, the atomic number of silver is 47.

We must always remember that the atomic number and the number of protons of an element are equal. Therefore, a silver atom contains forty-seven protons.

How many electrons does a silver atom have?

Electrons are the permanent core particles of an atom. It resides in a specific orbit of the atom and revolves around the nucleus. The properties of the elements and their compounds depend on the electron configuration.

In 1897, scientist J. J. Thomson discovered the existence of electrons through cathode ray examination. The smallest of the permanent core particles of an atom is the electron. Its mass is about 1/1836 of the mass of a hydrogen atom.

The actual mass of the electron is 9.1085 × 10−28 g or 9.1093 × 10−31 kg. The mass of the electron is often ignored because this mass is too small. Electrons always provide a negative charge.

It is expressed by e–. The charge of electrons is –1.609 × 10–19 coulombs and the relative charge is –1. That is, the charge of an electron is equal to that of a proton but the opposite.

We must also remember that the number of protons and electrons in an element is equal. Therefore, a silver atom contains forty-seven electrons in its orbit.

How many neutrons does a silver atom have?

Scientist Chadwick discovered neutrons in 1932. It is located in the nucleus at the center of the atom. The neutron is a charge-neutral particle and it is expressed by n.

The charge of a neutron is zero and the relative charge is also zero. The mass of the neutron is 1.674 × 10−27 kg. The number of electrons and protons in an atom is the same but the number of neutrons is different.

We already know that the nucleus is at the center of the atom. There are two types of particles in the nucleus. One is a positively charged particle proton and the other is a charge-neutral particle neutron.

Almost all the mass of the atom is accumulated in the nucleus. Therefore, the mass of the nucleus is called atomic mass. The nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. Therefore, atomic mass refers to the total mass of protons and neutrons.

Atomic mass (A) = Nucleus mass = Total mass of protons and neutrons (p + n)

Again, the mass of each proton and neutron is about 1amu. Therefore, the total number of protons and neutrons is called the atomic mass number. That is, the number of atomic mass(A) is = p + n

Thus, the number of neutrons in an element is obtained from the difference between the number of atomic masses and the number of atoms. That is, neutron number (n) = atomic mass number (A) – atomic number (Z)

Mass number (A)	Atomic number (Z)	Neutron number = A – Z
107.87	47	61

We know that the atomic number of silver is 47 and the atomic average mass number is about 108. Neutron = 108 – 47 = 61. Therefore, a silver atom has sixty-one neutrons.

Based on the atomic number, mass number, and neutron number of the element, three things can be considered. These are isotope, isobar, and isotone. The number of neutrons depends on the isotope of the atom.

How to determine the number of neutrons through isotopes of silver?

Atoms that have the same number of protons but different mass numbers are called isotopes of each other. The English chemist Frederick Sodi first came up with the idea of isotopes in 1912, and the scientist Aston in 1919 identified two different mass neon atoms (20Ne, 22Ne).

He named the atoms with different masses of the same element as isotopes of that element. The number of protons in an isotope atom does not change but the number of neutrons does. The silver atom has a total of forty-two isotopes.

Isotope	Mass number (A)	Atomic number (Z)	Neutron number = A – Z
92Ag	91.95971	47	45
93Ag	92.95019	47	46
94Ag	93.94374	47	47
95Ag	94.93569	47	48
96Ag	95.93074	47	49
97Ag	96.923881	47	50
98Ag	97.92156	47	51
99Ag	98.917646	47	52
100Ag	99.916115	47	53
101Ag	100.912684	47	54
102Ag	101.911705	47	55
103Ag	102.908961	47	56
104Ag	103.908624	47	57
105Ag	104.906526	47	58
106Ag	105.906663	47	59
107Ag	106.9050915	47	60
108Ag	107.9059502	47	61
109Ag	108.9047558	47	62
110Ag	109.9061107	47	63
111Ag	110.9052968	47	64
112Ag	111.9070485	47	65
113Ag	112.906573	47	66
114Ag	113.908823	47	67
115Ag	114.908767	47	68
116Ag	115.911387	47	69
117Ag	116.911774	47	70
118Ag	117.9145955	47	71
119Ag	118.915570	47	72
120Ag	119.918785	47	73
121Ag	120.920125	47	74
122Ag	121.92366	47	75
123Ag	122.92532	47	76
124Ag	123.92890	47	77
125Ag	124.93074	47	78
126Ag	125.93481	47	79
127Ag	126.93704	47	80
128Ag	127.94127	47	81
129Ag	128.94432	47	82
130Ag	129.95073	47	83
131Ag	130.95625	47	84
132Ag	131.96307	47	85
133Ag	132.96878	47	86

Among the isotopes, silver-107 and silver-109 are stable and formed naturally. The remaining isotopes of silver are highly unstable and their half-lives are very short. Of the 42 radioisotopes of silver, the longest-lived radioisotope is silver-105 with a half-life of 41.3 days.

The next longest-lived silver isotope is silver-111 with a half-life of 7.43 days, and silver-112 with a half-life of 3.13 hours. The mass of a stable silver-107 is about 107u and silver-109 is about 109u.

How many protons, neutrons and electrons does a silver ion(Ag+) have?

When an atom carries a negative or positive charge by accepting or rejecting electrons, it is called an ion. The ionic properties of the elements depend on the exchange of electrons.

In an atomic ion only the number of electrons changes but the number of protons and neutrons do not change. Silver has only an electron in its last orbit.

During the formation of a bond, silver donates an electron of the last shell and turns into a silver ion(Ag+). In this case, the silver ion carries a positive charge.

Ag – e– → Ag+

Here, the electron configuration of silver ion(Ag+) is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10. This silver ion(Ag+) has forty-seven protons, sixty-one neutrons, and forty-six electrons.

Silver ion	Protons	Neutrons	Electrons
Ag+	47	61	46

What are the properties of protons neutrons and electrons?

Name	Symbol	Relative Mass (amu)	Relative Charge	Actual Mass(kg)	Actual Charge(C)	Location
Proton	p	1.00757	+1	1.672×10−27	1.602×10−19	Inside the nucleus
Neutron	n	1.0089	0	1.674×10−27	0	Inside the nucleus
Electron	e–	5.488×10−4	–1	9.109×10−31	–1.6×10–19	Outside the nucleus

Why is it important for us to know the number of electrons and protons?

An atomic number is a number that carries the properties of an element. The number of electrons and protons in an element is determined by the atomic number. Also, the exact position of an element is determined in the periodic table.

The properties of an element can be determined by electron configuration. Also, the valency, valence electrons, and ionic properties of the elements are determined by the electron configuration.

To determine the properties of an element, it is necessary to arrange the electrons of that element. And to arrange the electrons, you must know the number of electrons in that element.

To know the number of electrons, you need to know the atomic number of that element. We know that an equal number of protons of atomic number are located in the nucleus of the element and electrons equal to protons are in orbit outside the nucleus.

Atomic number (Z) = Number of electrons

We already know that the atomic number of silver is 47. That is, there are forty-seven electrons in the atom of the silver element. So, it is possible to determine the properties of silver from the electron configuration.

Now, the electron configuration of silver shows that the last shell of silver has an electron. Therefore, the valence electrons of silver are one.

The last electron of silver enters the d-orbital. Therefore, it’s a d-block element. To know these properties of silver one must know the number of electrons and protons of silver.

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