a proton has a positive 1 electric charge & an electron has a negative -1 electric charge ->  equal numbers of protons and electrons result in a neutral 0 electric charge  equal numbers of protons and electrons result in a neutral 0 electric charge & a neutron has a neutral electric charge ->  equal numbers of protons and electrons and any number of neutrons result in a neutral 0 electric charge  equal numbers of protons and electrons and any number of neutrons result in a neutral 0 electric charge & an atom is made of protons / neutrons / electrons ->  if an atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, then the atom will have a neutral charge  if an atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, then the atom will have a neutral charge & an normal atom has a neutral electric charge -> that atom has an equal number of protons and electrons