Chemical Symbol – representation of an element

Elements beyond uranium (Z = 92) do not occur naturally and must be synthesized in particle accelerators

Isotopes – two or more atoms having the same atomic number but different atomic mass
A X
ZE
Z: atomic number or the proton number
A: mass number
A– Z: neutron number
X: number of proton – number of electron

Atoms with the same number of protons are atoms of the same element