Question #a165a

2 Answers
Dwight
Oct 4, 2017

Electrically neutral

Explanation:

The (positive) charge on one proton is exactly equal in size to the (negative) charge on one electron. So, if they are present in equal numbers (as they are in every atom) the atom has a net charge of zero.

Truong-Son N.
Oct 4, 2017

...Neutral, is probably what you're looking for.

All protons are identically unit positive charge, and all electrons are identically unit negative charge. When all the charges add up to zero, it is because the number of positive charges is equal to the number of negative charges.

It just follows from the idea that #1# and #-1# are additive inverses; #1 + (-1) = 0#, so as long as the number of protons equals the number of electrons, the sum of the charges is zero...

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