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Proton: Learn its Properties, Structure, & Mass
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Structure of Atom
Everything in this cosmos is composed of matter. The matter is further divided into fundamental particles known as atoms, which serve as the fundamental building blocks of chemistry. Atoms, as we all know, are made up of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons will be discussed in this article. A proton is a subatomic particle located in the nucleus of every atom and has the same magnitude of electrical charge (but positive) as that of an electron.
Continue reading to learn more about its structure, mass, properties and its comparison with respect to an electron.
Proton
A proton is defined as that fundamental particle of every atom which carries a unit positive charge. It has a mass almost equal to that of the hydrogen atom and is found in the nucleus of the atom. A positively charged proton has a charge equal to
Proton Structure
Protons also have their structure. Proton is made up of three quarks, two up quarks and one down quark, which are held together by gluons. Lots of quark-antiquark pairs are present as well. These quark-antiquark pairs consist mostly of up quarks, a down quark, and a few strange quarks with multiple quantum numbers. These quarks, antiquarks, and gluons move very quickly and constantly collide with each other. The structure of the proton is given in the image below:
Mass of Proton
The mass of protons comes from the gluons that bind the constituent quarks together, and a very less amount of mass of a proton is contributed by quarks. The mass of a proton is
Up quarks have an electric charge of 2/3e. Down quarks have an electric charge of -1/3e. Gluons have zero charges, and any quark-antiquark has a total charge equal to zero. The charge of the proton is only contributed by two up quarks and one down quark. Therefore, total electric charge of a proton is
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Properties of Proton
Following are the properties of a proton.
- Proton is present inside the nucleus and is a tiny dense region at the centre of the atom.
- The mass of a hydrogen atom is almost equal to a proton.
- Almost all the mass of a nucleus comes from protons and neutrons.
- These are positively charged particles with a charge of
coulomb. - An atomic number of an element is determined by the proton number.
- Its mass is 1836 times the mass of an electron.
- The actual mass of a proton is
kg.
Difference Between Proton and Electron
Proton
Electron
It is a positively charged subatomic particle.
It is a negatively charged subatomic particle.
It is present inside the nucleus and cannot move like an electron.
It revolves around fixed orbitals, so we can say it is mobile.
It is represented by the symbol p.
Electron is represented by symbol e.
A lot of energy is required to add or remove a proton from the atom.
Less energy is required to add or remove it from the atom.
It is dense and has a mass of way more than an electron.
Its mass is 1/1836 of the mass of the proton.
Protons may be involved in nuclear reactions but not in chemical reactions.
Electrons are involved in chemical reactions.
| Proton | Electron |
| It is a positively charged subatomic particle. | It is a negatively charged subatomic particle. |
| It is present inside the nucleus and cannot move like an electron. | It revolves around fixed orbitals, so we can say it is mobile. |
| It is represented by the symbol p. | Electron is represented by symbol e. |
| A lot of energy is required to add or remove a proton from the atom. | Less energy is required to add or remove it from the atom. |
| It is dense and has a mass of way more than an electron. | Its mass is 1/1836 of the mass of the proton. |
| Protons may be involved in nuclear reactions but not in chemical reactions. | Electrons are involved in chemical reactions. |
Hopefully, the concepts around protons were straightforward to grasp. If you want to study comparable Chemistry topics, you should use the free Testbook App from the Google Play store. It will provide you with all the relevant study resources, such as test papers, revision notes, mock tests, and so on, to help you prepare for the exam. So, go to the Google Play store right now to grab the app and the incentives.
Protons FAQs
What is the proton made up of?
A proton is made up of the following particles:Two up quarks (charge + 2/3e)One down quark (charge − 1/3e)
What is the mass of a proton?
It is a subatomic particle and has the rest mass of 1,836 times the mass of an electron, which comes out to be
When was the proton discovered?
It was discovered in 1917 by scientist Ernest Rutherford.
What is the formula for protons?
To determine the number of protons in an atom, we can use two formulas, which are as follows:Number of Protons = Atomic Number.Number of Protons = Mass Number - Number of Neutrons.
What is the atomic mass of a proton?
The atomic mass of the proton is 1.0073 u, where 'u' represents the atomic mass unit.