What is the overall charge of a neutral atom?

1 Answer
Meave60
Sep 2, 2017

A neutral atom has an overall charge of zero.

Explanation:

A neutral atom has the same number of positively charged protons in its nucleus as it has negatively charged electrons in the electron cloud surrounding the nucleus.

The diagram below illustrates a neutral carbon atom. There are 6 protons in the nucleus, and 6 electrons surrounding the nucleus.

![https://astrobob.areavoices.com/2016/06/13/in-the-search-for-new-elements-look-no-further-than-earth/](useruploads.socratic.org)

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