The two fundamental particles inside the atom are-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Electrons and Protons
The atom was first shown to be divisible when its charged particles were found: the negatively charged electron (J.J. Thomson, 1897) and the positively charged proton (E. Goldstein’s canal rays, later named by Rutherford). These two are the fundamental charged particles of every atom, and their equal numbers make the atom neutral as a whole.
The third particle, the neutron, carries no charge and was discovered much later, by James Chadwick in 1932. It sits with the protons in the nucleus (the ordinary hydrogen atom has none).
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) Atoms and Neutrons — Incorrect. The atom is the whole, not a particle inside itself.
Option (2) Neutrons and Protons — Incorrect. These are the particles of the nucleus (nucleons), and the neutron among them carries no charge.
Option (3) Electrons and Neutrons — Incorrect. The neutron has no charge; the electron’s negative charge is balanced by the proton.
Note: An atom has three fundamental particles: electrons, protons and neutrons. The question asks for two, and the answer given by NTA takes the two charged particles, the electron and the proton.