protons and neutrons are contained in the nucleus of an atom.
protons and neutrons are contained in the nucleus of an atom.
what is contained in the nucleus of an atom?
protons and neutrons
every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. the nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. protons and neutrons are called nucleons. more than 99.94% of an atom's mass is in the nucleus. the protons have a positive electric charge whereas the electrons have a negative electric charge. the neutrons have no electric charge. if the number of protons and electrons are equal, then the atom is electrically neutral. if an atom has more or fewer electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative or positive charge, respectively. these atoms are called ions.
atom
the nucleus of an atom consists of neutrons and protons, which in turn are the manifestation of more elementary particles, called quarks, that are held in association by the nuclear strong force in certain stable combinations of hadrons, called baryons. the nuclear strong force extends far enough from each baryon so as to bind the neutrons and protons together against the repulsive electrical force between the positively charged protons. the nuclear strong force has a very short range, and essentially drops to zero just beyond the edge of the nucleus. the collective action of the positively charged nucleus is to hold the electrically negative charged electrons in their orbits about the nucleus. the collection of negatively charged electrons orbiting the nucleus display an affinity for certain configurations and numbers of electrons that make their orbits stable. which chemical element an atom represents is determined by the number of protons in the nucleus; the neutral atom will have an equal number of electrons orbiting that nucleus. individual chemical elements can create more stable electron configurations by combining to share their electrons. it is that sharing of electrons to create stable electronic orbits about the nucleus that appears to us as the chemistry of our macro world.
atomic nucleus