Students are completing a table about a particular subatomic particle that helps make up an atom. The students have filled in one cell of the table so far.

\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}
\hline
Mass (amu) & Location & Charge \\
\hline
1 & & \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

Based on the information shown, which statement about the subatomic particle must be correct?

A. Its location is in the nucleus, because the particle is a proton or a neutron.
B. Its location is in the nucleus, because the particle is a neutron or an electron.
C. Its charge is +1, because the particle is a proton.
D. Its charge is 0, because the particle is a neutron.



Answer :

### Step-by-Step Solution

1. Understand the Given Information:
- The table specifies the mass of an unknown subatomic particle as 1 atomic mass unit (amu).

2. Identify Particles by Mass:
- We need to identify which subatomic particles have a mass of approximately 1 amu:
- Proton: Mass is approximately 1 amu.
- Neutron: Mass is also approximately 1 amu.
- Electron: Mass is much smaller (approximately 0.0005 amu), so it can be ignored for this scenario.

3. Possible Particles:
- Based on the mass criteria, the particle could either be:
- A Proton
- A Neutron

4. Evaluate the Statements:
- Statement 1: "Its location is in the nucleus, because the particle is a proton or a neutron."
- Proton: Resides in the nucleus.
- Neutron: Also resides in the nucleus.
- As both protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus, this statement is accurate.

- Statement 2: "Its location is in the nucleus, because the particle is a neuron or an electron."
- Electron: Does not reside in the nucleus, it orbits the nucleus.
- This statement is incorrect because electrons are not found in the nucleus.

- Statement 3: "Its charge is +1, because the particle is a proton."
- If the particle is a proton, its charge is indeed +1. However, it doesn't account for neutrons which also have a mass of 1 amu.
- This statement is partially correct but incomplete since it doesn’t consider neutrons.

- Statement 4: "Its charge is 0, because the particle is a neutron."
- If the particle is a neutron, its charge is indeed 0. However, this doesn’t account for protons which also have a mass of 1 amu.
- This statement is partially correct but incomplete since it doesn’t consider protons.

5. Conclusion:
- The most accurate statement is Statement 1, which correctly identifies that the particle must be either a proton or neutron and that both are located in the nucleus.

Therefore, the correct statement based on the given information is:
- “Its location is in the nucleus, because the particle is a proton or a neutron.”