I found the answer to this question:
"The carbon-12 atom has a mass of 12.000 u, and yet it contains 12 objects (6 protons and 6 neutrons) that each have a mass greater than 1.000 u, not to mention a small contribution from the 6 electrons.
This is true for all nuclei, that the mass of the...
I read that a C12 atom has an atomic mass unit of 12 amu's. A C12 atom has 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons. If the mass of a proton is 1.00728 amu, the mass of a neutron is 1.00867 amu, and the mass of an electron is .000549, how can it's total amu be 12...