How do you count electrons?
Keeping this in consideration, how do you find the number of electrons?
The number of electrons in a neutral atom is equal to the number of protons. The mass number of the atom (M) is equal to the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. The number of neutrons is equal to the difference between the mass number of the atom (M) and the atomic number (Z).
- Determine the oxidation state of the transition metal and the resulting d-electron count.
- Determine the number of electrons from each ligand that are donated to the metal center.
- Add up the electron counts for the metal and for each ligand.
Just so, how do you find the amount of electrons in an isotope?
Understand that isotopes of an element have different mass numbers but the same number of protons. Using the Periodic Table, find the atomic number of the element. The atomic number equals the number of protons. In a balanced atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons.
Protons and neutrons are in the center (nucleus) of the atom. Proton—positive; electron—negative; neutron—no charge. The charge on the proton and electron are exactly the same size but opposite. The same number of protons and electrons exactly cancel one another in a neutral atom.