Question

Which of the following has the greatest mass?
a.) Electron
b.) Proton
c.) Neutron
d.) Hydrogen cation

Answer 1

Hint: You should know that it is an electrically neutral elementary subatomic particle, which generally has a magnetic moment which is used to study microscopic magnetic structure. Now try to figure out the answer by yourself!

Complete step by step answer:
First let us know about subatomic particles.
Subatomic particles are nothing but in simple words, they are tiny pieces of matter that work together to create atoms. Within the nucleus of the atom, we find the proton and neutron. The proton has a positive charge while the neutron has a neutral charge. As far as the electron is concerned, it is a negatively charged particle orbiting the nucleus.

As we know electrons, protons and neutrons are all types of subatomic particles but remember they are all not of the same size. When their masses are compared we notice that the electrons have extremely small mass when compared to protons and neutrons. The mass of the neutron is slightly larger than the mass of a proton. Because protons and neutrons are much more massive when compared to the electrons.

Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, about 1.67\times { 10 }^{ -24 } grams. A neutron has a slightly larger mass than the proton. These are often given in terms of the atomic mass unit, where one atomic mass unit is defined as the 1/12th the mass of the carbon-12 atom.

Hence, neutrons have the greatest mass. Therefore, option C is the required answer.

Note: As we know neutron radiation is completely non-destructive in nature, due to this particular reason neutrons can be used to study even the delicate biological systems. Therefore, they play an important role in our day to day lives!