To write the symbol for an isotope, place the atomic number as a subscript and the mass number (protons plus neutrons) as a superscript to the left of the atomic symbol. The symbols for the two naturally occurring isotopes of chlorine are written as follows: 3517Cl and 3717Cl.
What is an isotope in biology?
(I-soh-tope) A form of a chemical element in which the atoms have the same number of protons (part of the nucleus of an atom) but with a different number of neutrons (part of the nucleus of an atom). For example, carbon 12, carbon 13, and carbon 14 are isotopes of carbon.
What does the number of an isotope tell you?
Mass Number is the number of protons and neutrons in an isotope. This is a whole number. We use the mass number in naming isotopes, like Carbon-12 or Oxygen-17. Atomic Mass is the mass of the entire atom of an isotope.
How do you read electrons in isotopes?
To find the number of electrons, add the opposite of the charge imbalance to the number of protons. For example, if an isotope has a -3 charge, as with phosphorus (atomic number 15), then the number of electrons is three greater than the number of protons.
What does the top number mean in an isotope?
The upper number represents the nuclear mass of the atom, given by the sum of the protons and neutrons.
How do you find neutrons in an isotope?
To find the number of neutrons in an isotope, subtract the number of protons from the atomic mass of the isotope. The atomic number of the element equals the number of protons.
How can isotopes be used in biology?
Radioisotopes can be used as tracers within a living organism to trace what is going on inside the organism at an atomic level; that is, radioisotopes can be injected or ingested by the organism, and researchers can trace the internal activities using the radioactivity.
How are isotopes defined quizlet?
isotopes. Isotopes are atoms of an element with the normal number of protons and electrons, but different numbers of neutrons. Isotopes have the same atomic number, but different mass numbers.
Which of the following best describes an isotope?
Which of the following best describes an isotope? Structurally variant atoms, which have the same number of protons (and electrons), but differ in the number of neutrons they contain.
What does the mass number of an isotope indicate?
The mass number is the combined number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus, so it’s protons and neutrons, and it’s symbolized by A. So A is the mass number, which is equal to the number of protons, that’s the atomic number which we symbolized by Z, plus the number of neutrons.
How do you know which isotope has the greatest abundance?
To determine the most abundant isotopic form of an element, compare given isotopes to the weighted average on the periodic table. For example, the three hydrogen isotopes (shown above) are H-1, H-2, and H-3. The atomic mass or weighted average of hydrogen is around 1.008 amu ( look again at the periodic table).
What is an isotope easy definition?
Definition of isotope 1 : any of two or more species of atoms of a chemical element with the same atomic number and nearly identical chemical behavior but with differing atomic mass or mass number and different physical properties.
How do you find the protons neutrons and electrons of an isotope?
How do you find the number of protons in an isotope?
How do you find the atomic number of an isotope?
In a nuclear symbol, the mass number of the isotope is positioned as a superscript before an elemental symbol, and the atomic number of the element is written directly underneath the mass number. The isotope in Example 2.4. 2 has an atomic number of 74, a mass number of 186, and is symbolized as W.
What is the number in the bottom in isotope?
For nuclear notation, the mass number of the isotope goes on top and the atomic number goes on the bottom.
What does the number in the lower left corner of the isotope symbol indicate?
The atomic number of an element represents the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of that element. 3c. Where is the atomic number located in the isotope symbol ? The lower left corner of the isotope symbol is where the atomic number is written.
Do isotopes have the same number of protons and electrons?
Usually one or two isotopes of an element are the most stable and common. Different isotopes of an element generally have the same physical and chemical properties because they have the same numbers of protons and electrons.
Why are isotopes so important in biology?
Because the number of neutrons in an atom’s nucleus has a negligible effect on chemical properties, isotopes provide an efficient means of studying various biological processes without significantly affecting their natural course.
How isotopes can be used in biological research and medicine?
Radioisotopes are an essential part of medical diagnostic procedures. In combination with imaging devices which register the gamma rays emitted from within, they can be used for imaging to study the dynamic processes taking place in various parts of the body.
Do isotopes lose protons or neutrons?
Some isotopes are unstable and will lose protons, other subatomic particles, or energy to form more stable elements. These are called radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes.
How are isotopes defined forms of?
An isotope is one of two or more forms of the same chemical element. Different isotopes of an element have the same number of protons in the nucleus, giving them the same atomic number, but a different number of neutrons giving each elemental isotope a different atomic weight.
How can you tell isotopes apart quizlet?
How can you tell isotopes apart? By their neutrons and atomic mass.
What makes an atom an isotope?
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
What makes an isotope stable?
A stable isotope is one that does not emit radiation, or, if it does its half-life is too long to have been measured. It is believed that the stability of the nucleus of an isotope is determined by the ratio of neutrons to protons.