Video narration
How can an atom be neutral if some of its particles carry charge? Think of a game score: plus points and minus points can cancel. Meet the atom's three particles. Protons are positively charged and neutrons have no electrical charge; both are packed in the center. Electrons are negatively charged and move outside that center. Here's the key turn: neutral does not mean the atom has no charged particles. It means the charges balance. One proton is plus one; one electron is minus one. In a neutral atom, their numbers are equal, so the total charge is zero. Neutrons do not enter that balance. Now for atomic number: it is simply the number of protons. That number identifies the element. So the answer to the puzzle is simple: an atom is neutral when its protons and electrons balance, while its atomic number is its proton count.