What does the 32.06 represent? 16
S
Sulfur
32.06
The atomic number and the number of neutrons
The atomic mass & number of nuetrons
The number of protons & the atomic number
The atomic mass, the average number of protons & neutrons

The 32.06 represent The atomic mass, the average number of protons & neutrons

The Atomic Number (Z) indicates the number of protons in an atom of an element. If the atom is neutral then the number of protons will be equal to the number of electrons. So the atomic number can also indicate the number of electrons.

So atomic number = number of protons = number of electrons

Mass Number (A) is the sum of protons and neutrons

Mass Number (A) = Number of protons + Number of Neutrons

So that the relationship between atomic numbers and mass numbers can be formulated as follows:

Atomic Number (Z) = Mass Number (A) - Number of Neutrons

In the following element notation,

X = symbol of elemental atom

A = mass number

   = number of protons + number of neutrons

Z = atomic number

   = number of protons = number of electrons, on neutral elements

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