Basic Knowledge

• neutral atoms (-) have the same amount of protons and electrons, which are the atomic number. # of Neutrons is the mass - atomic #.
• Ion's protons are the same as it's atomic #, and the neutrons are calculated through mass - atomic #. However, electrons can either cause a positive (cation) or negative (anion) charge
• cation is a lost electron (atom positively charged)
• anion is a gained electron (negatively charged atom)
• isotopes are atoms of the same element that have a different mass due to neutrons (mass - atomic #), however the proton and electron number stay the same (atomic #)