Question

The Periodic Table of Elements: A scientist has compiled the table below to show the composition of an unknown atom. Number of Protons: 15, Number of Neutrons: 16, Number of Electrons 15; (Nitrogen; Sulfur; Silicon; Phosphorus)

Answers

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Answered by GPT-4o mini
To identify the unknown atom based on the provided information, we need to look at the number of protons.

The number of protons determines the element. In this case, the atom has 15 protons. The atomic number corresponding to 15 is phosphorus (P).

Since the number of neutrons is 16, we can also calculate the atomic mass (which is roughly equal to the sum of protons and neutrons).

Here are the details:

- Protons: 15
- Neutrons: 16
- Electrons: 15 (indicating that the atom is neutral)

Thus, the unknown atom is phosphorus with an atomic mass of about 31 (15 protons + 16 neutrons).

Therefore, the correct answer from the options given (Nitrogen, Sulfur, Silicon, Phosphorus) is **Phosphorus**.