Bismuth Protons Neutrons Electrons (And How to Find them?)

Bismuth has 83 protons, 126 neutrons and 83 electrons.

But how will you find the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in Bismuth (Bi)?

Well, it is very easy to find the protons, neutrons and electrons of bismuth atom.

Here I have given a very simple method for finding the protons, neutrons and electrons of bismuth atom.

Let’s dive right into it!

Finding the Protons, Neutrons and Electrons in Bismuth

How to find protons?

The number of protons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom. ^[1]

How to find neutrons?

The number of neutrons can be found by subtracting the atomic number from its atomic mass.

How to find electrons?

For a neutral atom, the number of electrons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.

Let’s calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in bismuth.

#1 Number of Protons in Bismuth

If you have a periodic table with you, then most of the answers are in front of you.

You can see the elements, their atomic number and their atomic mass from the periodic table.

Now here our element is Bismuth (Bi).

So from the above periodic table, you can see that the atomic number of bismuth is 83.

As the atomic number of bismuth is 83, it has a total of 83 protons in its nucleus.

Thus, the number of protons in Bismuth is 83.

#2 Number of Neutrons in Bismuth

In order to find the number of neutrons of bismuth atom, you should know its atomic mass first.

The number of neutrons in bismuth can be obtained by subtracting the atomic number from its atomic mass.

The atomic mass of bismuth is 208.98 u (which you can round it to 209). ^[2]

So from this atomic mass (i.e 209), you have to subtract its atomic number (i.e 83).

So you will get 209 – 83 = 126.

Thus, the number of neutrons in Bismuth is 126.

#3 Number of Electrons in Bismuth

For a neutral atom, the number of electrons and the number of protons are the same.

Here, the bismuth atom is a neutral atom.

So the number of electrons in bismuth is equal to its number of protons (which is also equal to its atomic number).

In the beginning, we have found that the number of protons in bismuth is 83.

Thus, the number of electrons in Bismuth is 83.

Summary

Number of Protons in Bismuth

The number of protons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.
Number of Protons in Bismuth = Atomic number of Bismuth = 83

Number of Neutrons in Bismuth

The number of neutrons can be found by subtracting the atomic number from its atomic mass.
Number of Neutrons in Bismuth = Atomic mass of Bismuth – Atomic number of Bismuth = 209 – 83 = 126

Number of Electrons in Bismuth

For a neutral atom, the number of electrons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.
Number of Electrons in Bismuth = Atomic number of Bismuth = 83

I hope you have understood the simple method for finding the protons, neutrons and electrons of bismuth atom.

Author

Jay Rana

Jay is an educator and has helped more than 100,000 students in their studies by providing simple and easy explanations on different science-related topics. With a desire to make learning accessible for everyone, he founded Knords Learning, an online learning platform that provides students with easily understandable explanations.