a proton has a positive (+1) electrical charge & a electron has a negative (-1) electric charge ->  if the number of proton is greater than the number of electrons, then the electric charge will be positive  an atom has 5 protons & that atom has 4 electrons ->  the number of protons is greater than the number of electrons  if the number of proton is greater than the number of electrons, then the electric charge will be positive & the number of protons is greater than the number of electrons -> the atom will be positively charged