Question

the total mass of the protons and newtrons in an atom are called the what

Answer 1

The total mass of the protons and neutrons in an atom is called the **nuclear mass** or **atomic mass unit (amu)** when discussing it in the context of atomic masses. The sum of the masses of protons and neutrons gives the mass of the nucleus, which is the majority of an atom's mass. This is often expressed in atomic mass units (amu), where 1 amu is defined as one twelfth of the mass of an unbound neutral carbon-12 atom in its nuclear and electronic ground state.