You can also determine the number of electrons in an atom by looking at its atomic number. The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in its nucleus. So, if an element has an atomic number of 10, it will also have 10 electrons.
Here is a table showing the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons in the first 20 elements:
| Element | Protons | Electrons | Neutrons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Helium | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Lithium | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Beryllium | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Boron | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Carbon | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Nitrogen | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Oxygen | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Fluorine | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Neon | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Sodium | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Magnesium | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Aluminum | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Silicon | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Phosphorus | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Sulfur | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Chlorine | 17 | 17 | 18 |
| Argon | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Potassium | 19 | 19 | 20 |
| Calcium | 20 | 20 | 20 |