I'm building a carbon atom. I've been told that the atomic number of carbon is 6, which means that the carbon atom has 6 protons. The carbon atom I'm building has a total of 12 particles in its nucleus, which means that I need to use. ?? neutrons. The carbon atom I'm building has 6 electrons. These electrons are found in levels. The first level of the carbon atom has ?? electrons, and the second level has ?? electrons.