An atom of a certain element has 4 protons and 5 neutrons. If the atom is neutral, how many electrons does it have?
Step 2: In this case, the atom has 4 protons, so it must have 4 electrons.
Step 1 :Step 1: Recall that in a neutral atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons.
Step 2 :Step 2: In this case, the atom has 4 protons, so it must have 4 electrons.