Nimo

Study smarter with Nimo

Personalised revision that adapts to you. Ace your revision with unlimited practice questions that are designed to help you learn faster. We're slowly rolling out to more and more students.

Isotopes and atomic representations explained

Atomic structure • Atoms and isotopes

Key concepts

What you'll likely be quizzed about

  • Isotopes are versions of a chemical element that have identical atomic numbers but different mass numbers.
  • The atomic number represents the count of protons, while the mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons.
  • For example, carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes of carbon.
  • They contain 6 protons but differ in their neutron count, leading to a mass number of 12 and 14, respectively.

Flashcards

Test your knowledge with interactive flashcards

How does an isotope's mass number differ from its atomic number?

Click to reveal answer

The mass number is the total count of protons and neutrons, while the atomic number is solely the number of protons.

Key notes

Important points to keep in mind

Isotopes share the same chemical properties due to identical proton count.

Radioactive isotopes emit radiation, impacting their surroundings.

The concept of isotopes extends to all elements in the periodic table.

Built with v0