Answer:
Option D. Electron clouds with a total of 7 electrons.
Explanation:
For an atom to be neutral (i.e having a charge of zero), the number of protons and electrons must be equal.
Thus, to know which option is correct, we shall determine the number of protons and electrons in the nitrogen atom as given in the question above.
From the question given above, we obtained the following:
Atomic number = 7
Mass number = 14
Number of protons =?
Number of electrons =.?
Next, we shall determine the number of protons in the nitrogen atom as follow:
Atomic number of an element is simply defined as the number of protons in the atom of the element. Mathematically,
Atomic number = proton number
Atomic number = 7
Therefore,
Number of protons = 7
Next, we shall determine the number of electrons in nitrogen atom as follow:
Since the atom is neutral (i.e having a charge of zero), the number of protons and electrons are equal i.e
Number of protons = number of electrons
Number of protons = 7
Therefore,
Number of electrons = 7
Thus, the nitrogen atom must have 7 electrons in order for it to be neutral.
**** Check ****
Charge of atom = Proton – Electron
Charge = 0
Proton = 7
Electron = 7
Charge of atom = Proton – Electron
0 = 7 – 7
0 = 0
