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Explain why the mass number of an oxygen atom represented as [tex]^{16}_{8}\text{O}[/tex] is 16.

You should refer to the numbers of sub-atomic particles in the nucleus of the atom.


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Final answer:

The mass number of an oxygen atom is determined by the total number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus, with oxygen-16 having 8 protons and 8 neutrons for a total mass number of 16.


Explanation:

The mass number of an oxygen atom, represented as ^16O, is 16 because it is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom. In this case, oxygen-16 (^16O) has 8 protons and 8 neutrons, totaling 16 nucleons.


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