Answer: protons
Explanation: atoms of each element contain a characteristic number of protons
Answer:
the answer is protons
Explanation: Atoms of each element contain a characteristic number of protons. In fact, the number of protons determines what atom we are looking at (e.g., all atoms with six protons are carbon atoms); the number of protons in an atom is called the atomic number. In contrast, the number of neutrons for a given element can vary.
