Question

q 9. any atom that is electrically neutral must contain --
fewer neutrons than nucleons
equal numbers of nucleons and n
more protons than electrons
equal numbers of electrons and pr
clear all

Explanation:

To determine the correct option, we recall the basic properties of an electrically neutral atom. Protons have a positive charge, electrons have a negative charge, and neutrons are neutral. For an atom to be electrically neutral, the total positive charge (from protons) must equal the total negative charge (from electrons). Since the charge of a proton is +1 and the charge of an electron is -1, the number of protons must equal the number of electrons.

• The first option ("fewer neutrons than nucleons") is incorrect because nucleons are protons + neutrons, so neutrons will always be less than nucleons (as nucleons include neutrons and protons), but this has nothing to do with electrical neutrality.
• The second option ("equal numbers of nucleons and...") is incomplete and also irrelevant to electrical neutrality.
• The third option ("more protons than electrons") would result in a positive charge, so the atom would not be neutral.
• The fourth option (assuming it is "equal numbers of electrons and protons") is correct because equal numbers of positive - charged protons and negative - charged electrons will cancel out their charges, resulting in an electrically neutral atom.

Answer:

The correct option is the one with "equal numbers of electrons and protons" (the fourth option in the list).