how many electrons does aluminum have?

Question

i need ti know how many electrons aluminum have

Answer 1

If you look at the periodic table, Al's atomic number is 13, so it must have 13 protons(+1) and, resultantly, 13 electrons (-1) to balance out the charge.

Answer 2

To identify the number of electrons an element has, all you need is a periodic table.  Identify the atomic nymber (the smallest of the 2 numbers in the box).  That number will be the number of protons which is also the number of electrons.

Answer 3

Erin D. is correct--but why?  Make sure you learn the "why" behind this so you can answer other similar questions.

Atoms of all elements are made up of three primary particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons.  The "sub-atomic" particles each have specific properties that such as size, electrical charge, etc. that are crucial for the stability of the atom.  The particles break down like this:

Particle   Relative size   Charge       Location                              How to determine

Proton           1                +        in the nucleus       # of protons= element's atomic # (use periodic table)

Electron         0                -        outside nucleus    # of electrons=# of protons(in neutral, "normal" atom)

Neutron         1                0        in the nucleus             Must be told or given (ie. can vary--isotopes--

                                                                                 for small elements most common form often

                                                                                 consists of isotope where #protons=#neutrons)

So Aluminum has 13 electrons because it needs 13 negative charges to balance the 13 postively-charged protons (which is what the periodic table told us it contains).  This will make the Aluminum atom electrically neutral.

What if I had Nitrogen (N) or Uranium (U) atoms?

Well, these atoms would have 7 and 92 electrons respectively.  Why?  See if you can use the above material and figure out the "why" and you will be set for any similar questions.

Answer 4

Also your teacher may ask you how many electrons are in Al^+3, the ionic form of aluminum, the +3 means your aluminum atom has a positive charge of 3 which means it has three less electrons than a nonionic atom of aluminum.

so your answer will be 10 electrons in that case.