An atom has 27 protons and 32 neutrons. Which of the following symbols is correct for this atom?

59Co

32Co

59Ge

27Ge

59Co

To identify the element, look at the atomic number, which is the amount of protons. This is cobalt.

The notation used above to write the element is mass number-chemical symbol, and so to find the mass number, simply add the number of protons to the number of neutrons. This gives you 59. Therefore, the correct symbol is 59Co