Isotopes Flashcards

All 4 cards in this deck

What are isotopes?

Atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

True or false? Isotopes of an element have different numbers of electrons.

False. They have the same number of protons and electrons; only the number of neutrons differs.

How do you find the number of neutrons in an atom from its atomic number and mass number?

number of neutrons = mass number − atomic number (the number of protons and the number of electrons both equal the atomic number)

What does a relative atomic mass that is not a whole number tell you about an element's atoms?

The element exists as a mixture of isotopes, with different numbers of neutrons and so different mass numbers.
e.g. chlorine, 35.5, is a mixture of chlorine-35 and chlorine-37.