Which element has more protons, molybdenum or palladium? Explain.

Question

Which element has more protons, molybdenum or palladium? Explain. 

Answer 1

You need to look at the atomic number, which defines the number of electrons in the element as well as the number of protons in the nucleus.  Molybdenum has an atomic number of 42, so it has 42 protons in its nucleus.  Palladium has an atomic number of 46, so it has 46 protons in its nucleus.

Answer 2

Look up these elements in the periodic table and find that molybdenum has an atomic number of 42, while palladium has an atomic number of 46.  Therefore, palladium has 4 more protons than molybdenum.

 

For similar questions that you posted, look up the elements in the periodic table, which should be in your chemistry textbook.