When the mass of the boron atom is calculated, the mass of the electrons is ignored. Why is the mass of the electrons ignored?

1 Answer
anor277
Oct 23, 2016

Because electron mass is so insignificant compared to proton and neutron mass that it CAN be ignored.

Explanation:

The mass of a proton is approx. 1.673×10−27⋅kg; the mass of a neutron is slightly larger. On the other hand, the rest mass of an electron is approx. 9.119×10−31⋅kg, approx. 4 orders of magnitude difference. Should electron mass be ignored, we are not going to sacrifice too much accuracy.

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