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

Mercury has 80 protons, 121 neutrons and 80 electrons.

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

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

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

Let’s dive right into it!

Finding the Protons, Neutrons and Electrons in Mercury

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 mercury.

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

#1 Number of Protons in Mercury

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 Mercury (Hg).

So from the above periodic table, you can see that the atomic number of mercury is 80.

As the atomic number of mercury is 80, it has a total of 80 protons in its nucleus.

Thus, the number of protons in Mercury is 80.

#2 Number of Neutrons in Mercury

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

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

The atomic mass of mercury is 200.59 u (which you can round it to 201). ^[2]

So from this atomic mass (i.e 201), you have to subtract its atomic number (i.e 80).

So you will get 201 – 80 = 121.

Thus, the number of neutrons in Mercury is 121.

#3 Number of Electrons in Mercury

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

Here, the mercury atom is a neutral atom.

So the number of electrons in mercury 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 mercury is 80.

Thus, the number of electrons in Mercury is 80.

Summary

Number of Protons in Mercury

• The number of protons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.
• Number of Protons in Mercury = Atomic number of Mercury = 80

Number of Neutrons in Mercury

• The number of neutrons can be found by subtracting the atomic number from its atomic mass.
• Number of Neutrons in Mercury = Atomic mass of Mercury – Atomic number of Mercury = 201 – 80 = 121

Number of Electrons in Mercury

• For a neutral atom, the number of electrons can be found by knowing the atomic number of that atom.
• Number of Electrons in Mercury = Atomic number of Mercury = 80

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

Check out related topics for more practice;
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