(Photo Credit x-ray delta one)
One of the very important concepts in Chemistry is Isotopes which is defined as “Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons but same number of protons”.
For example, Hydrogen itself has 3 isotopes, each differing in the number of neutrons.
It is importent to know the similarity and differences of Isotopes of An Element. Let’s take a look:
Similarity:
- Same proton number
- Same number of electrons in a neutral atom
- Same electronic configurations
- Same chemical properties
Differences:
- Different numbers of neutrons in an atom
- Different nucleon or mass number
- Different relative isotopic mass
- Different physical properties such as melting point, density, etc
Let’s try out a question on Isotopes.
Question:
A sample of hydrogen consists of the isotopes 1H, 2H and 3H. A sample of oxygen only contains 16O.
i) Write the formulae of all the different water molecules that can be formed from these samples. How many different types can you find?
ii) Which molecule has the largest mass?
PS: Try it out and leave the answer in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you.
Stay tuned for the next post – i will share with you more on Calculations involving Isotopic Abundance.