The proton is, in some sense, a red herring. Only the total charge of the nucleus (which happens to be the number of protons in certain units) is important to keep the atom electrically neutral. The detailed structure inside the nucleus (like the fact that it consists of protons and neutrons) is not relevant for chemistry. You should be asking to the number of electrons instead.

The proton is, in some sense, a red herring. Only the total charge of the nucleus (which happens to be the number of protons in certain units) is important to keep the atom electrically neutral. The detailed structure inside the nucleus (like the fact that it consists of protons and neutrons) is usually not relevant for chemistry. For chemical properties you should instead mainly be asking to the number of electrons and their orbitals.