answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Atomic Number is the number of protons that an atom has. The atomic number is different for each element.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How is the term atomic number defined for a given atom or isotope?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Chemistry

Protons electrons and neutrons in any given atom?

The atomic number of a chemical element is equal to the number of electrons or protons. The number of neutrons = Atomic weight of an isotope (rounded) - atomic number of the element (or the number of protons)


If Phosphorous has an atomic mass of 30 and atomic number of 15 how many neutrons does it have?

Atomic mass is equal to the number of protons + neutrons present in the nuclide. The atomic number is defined as the number of protons in the nuclide. Therefore to find the number of neutrons use the formula: atomic mass = #protons + # neutrons solving for # of neutrons you get: # neutrons = atomic mass - # protons plug in the given values: #neutrons = 31 - 15 # neutrons = 16


What is the atomic number of an atom that contains 19 protons 19 electrons and 21 neutrons?

The atomic number by definition is the number of protons in the nucleus, therefore 19 in this instance. (The isotope effectively specified by the numbers given in the question is potassium-40, which is least commonly occurring natural isotope of potassium.)


What information would be requierd to determine the mass number of nitrogen?

You would need to know how many protons and neutrons are in the nucleus of a particular isotope of nitrogen. The number of protons, which is its atomic number, will always be the same, no matter which isotope is given, but the number of neutrons differs with different isotopes. For example, one isotope of nitrogen has 7 neutrons. To determine its mass number, find nitrogen on the periodic table, and you will see that its atomic number is 7. So this isotope of nitrogen has 7 protons. Now, add the 7 neutrons to the 7 protons, and you get a mass number of 14 for this isotope of nitrogen, which is called nitrogen-14. (Isotopes are named by their mass numbers.) Another isotope of nitrogen has 8 neutrons. Add the 8 neutrons to the 7 protons (atomic number), and you get a mass number of 15 for this isotope of nitrogen, called nitrogen-15.


How do you find how many protonsneutrons and electrons are in an atom?

Using the periodic table you are able to determine the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons for any of the elements identified to this date. Knowing an element's name or symbol, look up the element in the table. For example lets look up Boron! Boron's chemical symbol is B, and from the periodic table its atomic number is 5. The atomic number of an element reveals the number of protons and also the number of electrons the element has as a single isolated atom. Although, the element may not exist freely as an isolated single atom in nature. So, Boron has 5 protons and 5 electrons. The number of neutrons an element may have can vary, and this is what differentiates stable and unstable isotopes of many elements. Boron has a molar mass of 10.811, and is listed with two stable isotopes: 10B and 11B. Subtracting the atomic number from the isotope number gives the number of neutrons boron is found with. The 10B isotope has 5 neutrons, and the 11B isotope has 6 neutrons. Since the molar mass is 10.811, we can tell that the 11B isotope is more abundant than the 10B isotope. If the distribution was equal then the molar mass would be 10.5.

Related questions

How can the atomic atom be used to determine the number of neutrons?

The atomic weight of any given isotope of an element is the result of the protons and the neutrons. The number of protons is the same as the atomic number, so if you subtract the atomic number from the atomic weight, voila, there is the number of neutrons. Bear in mind that elements have more than one isotope, and each isotope has a different number of neutrons. So the atomic weight is the result of a mixture of isotopes that appear in nature.


How many neutrons are in roentgenium?

Roentgenium-272 has 161 neutrons. Number of neutrons = Atomic mass of an isotope - Atomic number of the element The atomic number of roentgenium is 111, but Rg has many isotopes each with a different atomic mass and number of electrons.


Protons electrons and neutrons in any given atom?

The atomic number of a chemical element is equal to the number of electrons or protons. The number of neutrons = Atomic weight of an isotope (rounded) - atomic number of the element (or the number of protons)


How can you determine which isotope of a given atom is the most common?

round the atomic weight to the nearest whole number.


Which number for an isotope is the neutron number?

The number of neutrons is never directly displayed.For a given isotope of an element, the "top number" (e.g. 14C or carbon-14) is the atomic mass number, the total of neutrons and protons. To find the number of neutrons, subtract the atomic number from the isotopes atomic mass number. Here, 14C will have 8 neutrons.


How is the atomic number and mass number different?

The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of any given element. The mass number is the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom of an isotope of an element.


How many protons and electrons and neutrons does berkelium have?

Number of neutrons = Atomic mass of an isotope - atomic number of the element The atomic number of berkelium is 97.Number of neutrons = Atomic mass of an isotope - atomic number of the element The atomic number of berkelium is 97.


How is the mass number of an isotope different from the average atomic mass that is on the periodic table?

The mass number for a particular isotope of an element is a precise value. The average atomic mass for an element is the value you would measure for that element given all the isotopes it has and their abundance in the sample.


What has the atomic number of 86?

Isotopes are not designated by atomic number. The element with atomic number 88 is Radium. Because different isotopes of the same element vary by the number of neutrons in the nucleus, the isotope is designated by the atomic mass. For example, most carbon atoms have six protons, so the atomic number is 6. The most common isotope has 6 neutrons, so the isotope (Carbon 12) is the same as the atomic mass, 12 (6P + 6N), but there are isotopes with atomic masses of 13 (6P + 7N) and 14 (6P + 8N). Carbon 14 is familar as a dating tool when organic compounds are present. The only isotope given for Radium in the periodic table is 266.


What is make an atom isotope?

It is the neutron that makes changes in atomic nuclei to change them from one isotope to another. For any given element, that element will have a fixed number of protons. It is, after all, the number of protons that determine the elemental identity. But the number of neutrons in a given element can vary, and we use the term isotope to talk about which particular atom we're investigating. That is, we apply the term isotope to speak to an atom of a given element with a certain number of neutrons in its nucleus.


What is the difference between the atomic number and atomic mass?

The atomic number is the number of protons in an atom of an element, while the atomic mass is the mass of protons and neutrons of a specific isotope of a given element.


If Phosphorous has an atomic mass of 30 and atomic number of 15 how many neutrons does it have?

Atomic mass is equal to the number of protons + neutrons present in the nuclide. The atomic number is defined as the number of protons in the nuclide. Therefore to find the number of neutrons use the formula: atomic mass = #protons + # neutrons solving for # of neutrons you get: # neutrons = atomic mass - # protons plug in the given values: #neutrons = 31 - 15 # neutrons = 16