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In Isotopes
What are isotopes?
Isotope is the word we use to talk about two different forms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. A given element is identified by the n…umer of protons in its nucleus; that's its atomic number. Two different isotopes of the same element have the same number of protons, but each has a different number of neutrons in its nucleus. Said another way, one element may exist in a number of different forms called isotopes. Each element has a number of different isotopes, and this is determined by the number of neutrons in the nucleus. Let's look at an example. Example If we consider the case of oxygen, all atoms of this element have 8 protons. But the isotope oxygen-15 has 7 neutrons, while oxygen-16 (the most common isotope of oxygen) has 8 neutrons. Oxygen-17 has 9 neutrons. You have probably already noticed that the number of the isotope equals the atomic number of the element plus the number of neutrons in the nucleus of that isotope. This number is called the mass number, the sum of the atomic number and number of neutrons. Different isotopes of one element are chemically identical. Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Isotopes are the same elements, but have a different number of neutrons in their nucleus. Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. ( Full Answer )