Question 302002ChemistryWAEC
A hydrogen atom which has lost an electron contains
A
one proton only
B
one neutron only
C
one proton and one neutron
D
one proton, one. electron and one neutron
Step-by-Step Explanation
A hydrogen atom normally has:
- 1 proton in its nucleus
- 1 electron outside the nucleus
- 0 neutrons in the most common form of hydrogen
So a neutral hydrogen atom can be represented as:
Hydrogen atom=1 proton+1 electronThe question says the hydrogen atom has lost an electron. Losing an electron removes the only electron hydrogen has:
1 proton+1 electron−1 electron=1 protonSo the particle left behind is just the hydrogen nucleus, which contains:
1 proton onlyTherefore, the correct answer is:
A) one proton only