Nitrogen is a chemical element with the symbol N and an atomic number of 7. This means that a typical nitrogen atom has:
- Protons: The number of protons in an atom is equal to its atomic number. Therefore, nitrogen has 7 protons.
- Electrons: In a neutral atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons. Hence, a typical nitrogen atom also has 7 electrons.
- Neutrons: To find the number of neutrons, we subtract the atomic number from the atomic mass. The atomic mass of nitrogen is approximately 14. Thus, the number of neutrons is 14 – 7 = 7 neutrons.
In summary, a typical nitrogen atom contains:
- 7 protons
- 7 electrons
- 7 neutrons
This composition is characteristic of the most common isotope of nitrogen, known as nitrogen-14, which accounts for about 99.6% of nitrogen found in nature.