To understand the answer, one must understand the basic anatomy of an atom. There are three "parts" to every atom, the neutron (neutral charge), the proton (positive charge), and the electron (negative charge). Within the center of atom (the nucleus) are the neutrons and proton, and the electrons are moving around them in an "electron cloud." To clarify, let's think of an atom as the earth with the surrounding atmosphere, the land mass if composed of neutrons and protons, while the atmosphere contains ever moving electrons.
Now to answer the question at hand- An element is classified by the number of proton within the nucleus; therefore, the difference between different elements is the number of protons within the nucleus.
Atoms of the same element may differ from one another by having differing numbers of Neutrons in their centres.
The Proton number defines the element, so there cannot be two atoms of the same element with different proton numbers, because they will be, by definition, different elements. Neutron numbers can differ though. When one element has different neutron configurations, these are called Isotopes.
Isotopes of one particular element (atom) only differ in mass and stability (decay), not in chemical properties.
No. All atoms of the same element have the same number of protons and, when neutral, the same number of electrons. They can, however, differ in the number of neutrons.
All atoms of the same element are not identical. The atoms of same element with different number of neutrons are called as isotopes. Although, the number of protons and electrons are same in every atom.
Atoms of the same element may differ from one another by having differing numbers of Neutrons in their centres.
By number of protons/electrons.
Atoms of the same element differ in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. All atoms of a given element have the same number of protons, of course. The number of protons in a nucleus determines which element the atom is. But the number of neutrons can vary, and these different "versions" of a given element are called isotopes of that element. See the related question, which is linked below.
The number of electrons and neutrons may differ for atoms of the same element. However, what distinguishes atoms of one element from those of a different element is the number of protons in the atom's nucleus. All of the atoms of an element have the same number of protons, which is the single most important determiner of the properties of an element.
They are different words to describe the same thing. An atom is an element.
The number of neutrons present in atoms of an element may differ. Atoms of an element which have different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. These differ in mass but have the same chemistry.All of the neutrons in the nucleus of an atom are the same.
They are called isotopes. They differ in molecular mass due to the different number of neutrons.
Neutrons. If the differ in electrons they are not neutral and if they differ in protons then they are no longer the same element as the number of protons determines the name of the element.
An element is a composition of many atoms. Thus you can hold NaCl (salt) in your hand. You can't hold the atoms it makes up.
An element is a composition of many atoms. Thus you can hold NaCl (salt) in your hand. You can't hold the atoms it makes up.
The subatomic particle that makes atoms of different elements different from each other is the proton. This is given as the atomic number of the element on the periodic table.
The Proton number defines the element, so there cannot be two atoms of the same element with different proton numbers, because they will be, by definition, different elements. Neutron numbers can differ though. When one element has different neutron configurations, these are called Isotopes.