An atom has a central nucleus containing neutrons and protons. Electrons orbit the nucleus. (a) (i) Which row of the table gives the relative mass and charge of a proton? relative mass charge A 0 +1 B 0 -1 C 1 +1 D 1 -1 (ii) An atom has a radius of 1.0 × 10^-10 m. A nucleus has a radius of 1.0 × 10^-15 m. Calculate the ratio of the radius of the atom to the radius of the nucleus. (iii) Explain why an atom has no charge overall.

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An atom has a central nucleus containing neutrons and protons - Edexcel - GCSE Physics: Combined Science - Question 3 - 2023 - Paper 1

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An atom has a central nucleus containing neutrons and protons. Electrons orbit the nucleus. (a) (i) Which row of the table gives the relative mass and charge of a p... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:An atom has a central nucleus containing neutrons and protons - Edexcel - GCSE Physics: Combined Science - Question 3 - 2023 - Paper 1

Step 1

Which row of the table gives the relative mass and charge of a proton?

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Answer

The correct row is D, which indicates that the relative mass of a proton is 1 and its charge is +1.

Step 2

Calculate the ratio of the radius of the atom to the radius of the nucleus.

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Answer

Using the radii provided:

Radius of the atom = 1.0 × 10^-10 m
Radius of the nucleus = 1.0 × 10^-15 m

We can calculate the ratio:

$ext{ratio} = \frac{1.0 \times 10^{-10}}{1.0 \times 10^{-15}}$

This simplifies to:

$= 10^5$

Therefore, the ratio of the radius of the atom to the radius of the nucleus is 100,000:1.

Step 3

Explain why an atom has no charge overall.

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An atom has no charge overall because it contains an equal number of protons, which are positively charged, and electrons, which are negatively charged. The positive and negative charges balance each other out, leading to a neutral charge. Additionally, neutrons, which are neutral and do not affect charge balance, are also present in the nucleus.

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