Stable isotopes are non-radioactive forms of atoms. Although they do not emit radiation, their unique properties enable them to be used in a broad variety of applications, including water and soil management, environmental studies, nutrition assessment studies and forensics.
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Which is true of isotopes of an element?
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
What are isotopic techniques?
Isotopic labeling (or isotopic labelling) is a technique used to track the passage of an isotope (an atom with a detectable variation in neutron count) through a reaction, metabolic pathway, or cell. The reactant is ‘labeled’ by replacing specific atoms by their isotope.
How do you tell if an isotope is stable or unstable?
Stable isotopes do not decay into other elements. In contrast, radioactive isotopes (e.g., 14C) are unstable and will decay into other elements.
What’s the difference between stable and unstable isotopes?
Stable isotopes are naturally occurring forms of elements that are non-radioactive. Unstable isotopes are atoms having unstable nuclei. Therefore, these elements undergo radioactivity. This is the main difference between stable and unstable isotopes.
Which statement is incorrect about isotopes?
Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect: Isotopes are those elements having the same atomic number and different mass number. In isotopes the atoms have different numbers of neutrons but the number of protons remains the same.
Which of the following statements 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 makes isotopes differ from an element?
Isotopes. 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.
What isotopes are used in biological tracing?
Radioactive isotopes and radioactively labelled molecules are used as tracers to identify abnormal bodily processes. This is possible because some elements tend to concentrate (in compound form) in certain parts of the body – iodine in the thyroid, phosphorus in the bones and potassium in the muscles.
What is an isotope used in medicine?
The radioisotope most widely used in medicine is Tc-99, employed in some 80% of all nuclear medicine procedures. It is an isotope of the artificially-produced element technetium and it has almost ideal characteristics for a nuclear medicine scan, such as with SPECT.
Which pair of isotopes are likely to result in the greatest isotope effect?
Carbon 12 and carbon 13 are likely to result in the greatest isotopes effect.
What determines stability of isotopes?
Nuclear Stability is a concept that helps to identify the stability of an isotope. The two main factors that determine nuclear stability are the neutron/proton ratio and the total number of nucleons in the nucleus.
Why are some isotopes more stable than others?
Certain isotopes are more stable than others. Their stability is determined by the ratio of the number of neutrons to the number of protons in the nucleus. At low atomic masses, the stable ratio is approximately 1:1.
Which of the following is most likely a lighter stable nucleus?
Which of the following is most likely a lighter stable nucleus? A lighter stable nucleus usually has a neutron:proton ratio close to 1. They are known as radioisotopes.
What causes an isotope to become unstable?
When an atom has extra neutrons or protons, it causes the element to become unstable.
Why are heavy isotopes unstable?
Q: What makes the nucleus of a radioisotope unstable? A: The nucleus may be unstable because it has too many protons or an unstable ratio of protons to neutrons. For a nucleus with a small number of protons to be stable, the ratio of protons to neutrons should be 1:1.
How do you know which isotope is more radioactive?
If the ratio of neutrons to protons becomes too large or the atomic number is above 83 an isotope will be radioactive. According to the theory, If the ratio of neutrons to protons more than one, or becomes too large, the isotope is radioactive or the atomic number is above 83, the isotope will be radioactive.
Do isotopes have the same chemical properties?
Many isotopes occur naturally. 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.
Which of the following properties are similar for isotopes?
All the Isotopes of an element have identical chemical properties because they have the same number of electrons as an atom of that element but they have different numbers of neutrons. The different number of neutrons affects the mass number.
Which of the following statement is wrong periodic table?
Elements in the Modern Periodic Table are arranged based on their increasing atomic number hence option (i) is wrong. In the modern periodic table atomic mass is not a criteria hence option (ii) is wrong. Isotopes are given the same position in the periodic table hence option (iii) is wrong.
How do radioactive isotopes differ from isotopes?
Different isotopes of the same element have the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei but differing numbers of neutrons. Radioisotopes are radioactive isotopes of an element. They can also be defined as atoms that contain an unstable combination of neutrons and protons, or excess energy in their nucleus.
When dealing with isotopes it is important?
When dealing with isotopes, it is important to keep the atomic number in mind.
Which isotope is most likely to have the greatest abundance in nature?
Of the three hydrogen isotopes, H-1 is closest in mass to the weighted average; therefore, it is the most abundant.
Do isotopes react differently?
Because neutrons aren’t positive or negative, they don’t influence chemical reactions. In other words, different isotopes don’t behave any differently during chemical reactions or when forming compounds.
How are isotopes useful in biological experiments?
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.