Given that the mass of an electron is \(5.486 \times 10^{-4}\) amu, and the mass of a proton is \(1.007\) amu, calculate how many times heavier a proton is than an electron.

The proton is one of the building blocks of an atom, residing in the nucleus alongside neutrons. When we talk about the 'mass of a proton', we refer to its rest mass, which is approximately 1.007 atomic mass units (amu). One atomic mass unit is defined as one twelfth the mass of a carbon-12 atom, which is about equal to the mass of a single nucleon (either a proton or a neutron).

In the context of atomic scale weights, the mass of a proton is significant because it allows us to understand the overall mass of an atom since electrons contribute negligibly due to their much smaller mass. This concept is crucial when chemists and physicists calculate the atomic mass of elements and isotopes, or when balancing nuclear reactions.

An electron is a subatomic particle with a negative electric charge that orbits the nucleus of an atom. Uniquely, electrons have a much smaller mass than protons or neutrons, which is why they aren't significantly accounted for in the calculation of an atom's mass. The mass of an electron is approximately 0.0005486 amu.

Despite its minuscule mass, the electron plays a pivotal role in chemical bonding and electricity. It's the movement and sharing of electrons that dictate how atoms interact with each other, forming the basis for chemistry and the behavior of materials. In many scientific calculations, especially those involving masse-ratios, acknowledging the electron's mass is necessary to understand the finer details of particle physics and chemistry.

To comprehend the mass ratio between two subatomic particles, such as a proton and an electron, you perform a simple division of their respective masses. The mass ratio provides insight into how much heavier or lighter one particle is compared to another and can help us understand their interactions and the structures they form.

As seen in the provided exercise, calculating this ratio involves dividing the mass of the proton by the mass of the electron, yielding a number that signifies how many times one is heavier than the other. This calculation is straightforward but fundamental in physics and chemistry, highlighting the vast difference between the masses of the two particles - with the proton being significantly more massive than the electron.