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

Cobalt has 27 protons, 32 neutrons and 27 electrons.

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

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

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

Let’s dive right into it!

Finding the Protons, Neutrons and Electrons in Cobalt

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 cobalt.

If you don’t want to read, then you can also watch this video.

#1 Number of Protons in Cobalt

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 Cobalt (Co).

So from the above periodic table, you can see that the atomic number of cobalt is 27.

As the atomic number of cobalt is 27, it has a total of 27 protons in its nucleus.

Thus, the number of protons in Cobalt is 27.

#2 Number of Neutrons in Cobalt

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

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

The atomic mass of cobalt is 58.933 u (which you can round it to 59). ^[2]

So from this atomic mass (i.e 59), you have to subtract its atomic number (i.e 27).

So you will get 59 – 27 = 32.

Thus, the number of neutrons in Cobalt is 32.

#3 Number of Electrons in Cobalt

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

Here, the cobalt atom is a neutral atom.

So the number of electrons in cobalt 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 cobalt is 27.

Thus, the number of electrons in Cobalt is 27.

Summary

Number of Protons in Cobalt

The number of protons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.
Number of Protons in Cobalt = Atomic number of Cobalt = 27

Number of Neutrons in Cobalt

The number of neutrons can be found by subtracting the atomic number from its atomic mass.
Number of Neutrons in Cobalt = Atomic mass of Cobalt – Atomic number of Cobalt = 59 – 27 = 32

Number of Electrons in Cobalt

For a neutral atom, the number of electrons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.
Number of Electrons in Cobalt = Atomic number of Cobalt = 27

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