Take me down, take me down to the little white church, take me down, take me down, take me down, take me down to the little white church, take me down to the little white church, take me down to the little white church. Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/little_big_town/little_white_church.html.
  Because in a neutral atom, there are an equal number of positive protons and negative electrons. The equal number causes the charges to cancel out, making the net charge â¦ 0. An atom is made of positive protons and neutral neutrons in the nucleus, and negative electrons surrounding the nucleus.
The number of protons and electrons in an atom or molecule determines its charge and whether it is a neutral species or an ion. This worked chemistry problem demonstrates how to determine the number of protons and electrons in an ion. For atomic ions, the key points to keep in mind are: A neutral atom has the same number of protons and electrons. This number is the atomic number of the element. A positively-charged ion or cation has more protons than electrons. The proton number is the atomic number of the element, while the electron number is the atomic number minus the charge.