What is atomic number and mass number?
Answer Text: What is atomic number and mass number?Atomic number.- Refers to the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom;Examples.-Sodium has 11 protons in the nucleus and thus said to have atomic number 11;-Chlorine has 17 protons in the nucleus and thus said to have atomic number 17;Mass number;- Refers to the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom of an element;Examples:-Sodium has 12 neutrons and 11 protons hence a mass number of 23;-Chlorine has 18 neutrons and 17 protons hence a mass number of 35.Notation of atomic number and mass number;- Both atomic number and mass number of an element can be written along with the symbol of an element;Mass number;- Is conventionally represented as a superscript to the left of the symbol;Examples:Sodium; #\ ^23Na#;Magnesium #\ ^24Mg#;Atomic number;- Is conventionally represented as a subscript to the left of the symbol;Examples:Sodium; #\ _11Na#;Magnesium #\ _12Mg#;Thus the elements can be conventionally represented as:Sodium #\ _11^23Na#Magnesium#\ _12^ 24Mg#