A neutral fluorine atom has an equal number of positive and negative charges, meaning it has the same number of protons and electrons. Since the fluorine atom has 9 protons, it must also have 9 electrons to be neutral. The number of neutrons (10 in this case) does not affect the charge balance, as neutrons have no charge
. Therefore, a neutral fluorine atom with 9 protons and 10 neutrons will have 9 electrons.
