Name the three fundamental particles present in an atom. Give one characteristic of each?

Atom

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that takes part in chemical reactions.

Fundamental particles in an atom

Each atom consists of even smaller particles such as protons, neutrons and electrons.

Protons

• A proton is a positively charged particle.
• The positive charge possessed by a proton is considered as one unit of positive charge.
• The mass of a proton is almost equal to that of a hydrogen atom.

Neutron

• Neutrons do not carry any electrical charge. Thus, neutrons are electrically neutral.
• The mass of a neutron is almost equal to that of a proton. Thus, the mass of a neutron is taken as one atomic mass unit.

Electron

• An electron is a negatively charged particle. The negative charge possessed by an electron is considered as one unit of negative charge.
• The mass of an electron is negligible.