How are isotopes named?

Answer 1

Isotopes have a name that starts with the name of the element (based on the number of protons) followed by a number that is the combined number of protons and neutrons.

For example, if there are three protons and four neutrons, it would be called Lithium-7.

There are two special kinds of isotopes that have their very own name that sound like elements: deuterium and tritium. These are the same as hydrogen-2 and hydrogen-3.

Answer 2

I cannot say that I'm sure about my answer, but I have been told that first off, the actual element (or the isotope with the actual Atomic Mass or mass number the element is identified with) has only the symbol with letters as its symbolic name. For an isotope of the element, with one or more/less protons, the isotope's name is the symbol with letters and then a hyphen, followed by the mass number of the isotope. For example, Carbon's mass number is 12, but we know it just as C. One isotope of Carbon is C-14, which means that this isotope of Carbon has a mass number of 14. (By the way, the mass number is the number of protons plus the number of neutrons. Elements are identified by the number of protons they have. If the number of protons changes, then the element itself changes.) So that means that C-14 has 2 more neutrons than just C. Once again, I'm not sure that everything I've said is correct. However, I'm pretty sure it is -- for more information, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotope -- hope this helps at least a little!

Answer 3

Isotopes are named based on the element they belong to and their mass number. The name usually includes the element symbol followed by a hyphen and the mass number. For example, carbon-14 is an isotope of carbon with a mass number of 14.

Answer 4

The atomic number of the isotope is written as a superscript preceding the chemical symbol of the element; for example, the commonest isotope of sodium is 23Na.

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