Chapter 17, Problem 23A

To determine

To compare: Mass of electron and a nucleon.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

Electron: It is a subatomic particle. It was discovered in year 1897. Its symbol is e. It consists of negative electric charge.

The charge of electron is also called one elementary charge.

Nucleon: It is a proton or a neutron. It is also a subatomic particle. Proton is positively charged while neutron is negatively charged.

The mass of electron is $m_e=9.1\times {10}^{-31}\text{kg}$

And the mass of proton is $m_p=1.67\times {10}^{-27}\text{kg}$

Comparing both the masses,

  $\frac{m_p}{m_e}=\frac{1.67\times {10}^{-27}}{9.1\times {10}^{-31}}=1835.16$

It means mass of electron is around 1/1800 times the mass of nucleon.