EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The number of protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged) are equal in an atom. Therefore the opposite charges are balanced and thus there is no net charge on the atom. Moreover, neutrons present in the atom have no charge. Hence an atom is electrically neutral.

Detailed explanation-2: -So an atom as a whole is electrically neutral. When one or more electrons is stripped away from an atom, it becomes positively charged. Some atoms can attract additional electrons so they become negatively charged. Atoms which are not electrically neutral are called ions.

Detailed explanation-3: -Atoms are neutral; they contain the same number of protons as electrons. By definition, an ion is an electrically charged particle produced by either removing electrons from a neutral atom to give a positive ion or adding electrons to a neutral atom to give a negative ion.

Detailed explanation-4: -An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus, surrounded by one or more negatively charged particles called electrons. The positive charges equal the negative charges, so the atom has no overall charge; it is electrically neutral.

Detailed explanation-5: -All atoms have the same number of electrons as protons, so the positive and negative charges “cancel out, ” making atoms electrically neutral.