Let's analyze the mass of a neutron in comparison to an electron and a proton.
Firstly, let's understand the relative masses of these particles:
- The electron has a mass of approximately [tex]\(9.109 \times 10^{-31} \)[/tex] kg.
- The proton has a mass of approximately [tex]\(1.673 \times 10^{-27} \)[/tex] kg.
- The neutron has a mass of approximately [tex]\(1.675 \times 10^{-27} \)[/tex] kg.
### Comparing Neutron Mass to Electron Mass:
To compare the mass of a neutron to that of an electron, we divide the mass of a neutron by the mass of an electron:
[tex]\[ \text{Ratio}_{\text{neutron-to-electron}} = \frac{1.675 \times 10^{-27} \, \text{kg}}{9.109 \times 10^{-31} \, \text{kg}} \][/tex]
This ratio is significantly greater than 2. Thus:
- Option a: "double that of an electron" is incorrect as the neutron is much more massive.
- Option b: "about the same as that of an electron" is also incorrect given this substantial difference.
### Comparing Neutron Mass to Proton Mass:
Next, we compare the mass of a neutron to the mass of a proton:
[tex]\[ \text{Ratio}_{\text{neutron-to-proton}} = \frac{1.675 \times 10^{-27} \, \text{kg}}{1.673 \times 10^{-27} \, \text{kg}} \][/tex]
This ratio is very close to 1. Thus:
- Option c: "about the same as that of a proton" is correct, as the neutron and proton masses are almost identical.
- Option d: "double that of a proton" is incorrect because the neutron mass is nearly the same as the proton mass, definitely not double.
Therefore, given the relative masses:
- The correct statement is that the mass of a neutron is "about the same as that of a proton."
The correct answer is:
c. about the same as that of a proton
