How many protons in ammonium ion...?

Question

Mateo Aguilar · Accepted Answer

I count #4xxH#.........

#"Ammonium"# is the conjugate acid of #"ammonia"#, i.e. #H_3N + H^(+) rarr ""^+NH_4^# The nitrogen center is quaternized and given a formal positive charge during protonation. Of course, we COULD mean protons as massive, positively charged nuclear particles, in which there are 11 protons in the the ammonium ion. Given that we are in the chemistry section, I will stick with the definition of proton as #""^1H^+#.

Natalie Anton · Answer

#11# #"protons"#

We're asked to find the number of protons in the ammonium ion, #"NH"_4^+#.

Counting protons in a compound is straightforward; the number of protons in one atom of an element is the atomic number of that element.

Therefore, we just need to add of the atomic numbers of each element (multiplied by how many of the element there are in the compound).

I might note: the charge on any compound makes no difference in the number of protons in it; the charge is due to the addition/loss of electrons, and don't affect the proton number (which is always the same for any element)

The number of protons in one ammonium species is

#overbrace(1(7"protons"))^"Nitrogen (atomic number 7)" + overbrace((4)(1 "proton"))^"Hydrogen (atomic number 1)" = color(red)(11 "protons"#

There are #11# protons in every ammonium ion.

Caleb Adams · Answer

undefined As a result, the total number of protons in the ammonium ion is 7 (from nitrogen) + 4 (from hydrogen) = 11 protons. The ammonium ion (NH4+) consists of one nitrogen atom with 7 protons and four hydrogen atoms with 1 proton apiece.

Luna Chen · Answer

undefined The ammonium ion (NH4+) contains 4 protons.