To calculate the remaining amount of a radioisotope, use the following formula where A0 is

the amount of the radioisotope that existed originally, t is the amount of time the sample has
had to decay and T is the half life:

Calculating the average mass of an element

That number beneath each element in the periodic table is calculated using percentages
such as the carbon abundances mentioned earlier, which allow scientists to give an average
atomic mass for the isotope. Certain elements, such as chlorine, have several commonly
occurring isotopes, so their average atomic masses are rarely close to whole integers. Many
elements, however, such as carbon, have one very commonly occurring isotope and several
rare isotopes, resulting in an average atomic mass that is very close to the mass of the most
common isotope.
AA
t

T = ×( ) 0 05.

Chapter 3: Looking Under the Atomic Hood: Atomic Structure 35

Comparing carbon masses
Consider the element carbon, for example, which has
three naturally occurring isotopes. carbon-12 (or carbon
with six protons and six neutrons), written as:
is boring old run-of-the-mill carbon, and it accounts for
99 percent of all of the carbon out there. carbon-13 (or
carbon with six protons and seven neutrons), written as:
is a slightly more exotic, though equally dull, isotope,
which makes up most of the remaining 1 percent of
carbon atoms. Taking on an extra neutron makes
carbon-13 slightly heavier than carbon-12, but does little
else to change it. However, even this minor change has
some very real scientific consequences. Scientists compare
the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 in meteorites to
help them determine where that meteorite came from.
These ratios have been especially useful for identifying
Martian meteorites. Earth is significantly more massive
than Mars, and therefore, has a stronger magnetic field,
allowing it to hold onto its atmosphere. Mars, on the
other hand, is too small to hold onto the upper part of its
atmosphere. carbon-12 is lighter than carbon-13, so it
floats up to the upper atmosphere of Mars, where the
solar wind comes along like the big bad wolf and blows
it away. This leaves Mars with a higher percentage of
carbon-13 than you would find on Earth. So, minerals on
Mars that take carbon from the atmosphere and turn it
into rock end up with a little more carbon-13 and a little
less carbon-12 than similar minerals on earth. When a
meteor from Mars lands on Earth, scientists can verify
its origin by testing the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13.
carbon-14, the most exotic and interesting isotope of
carbon, has been very important in the process of
radioactive dating. Carbon is one of the building blocks
of organic matter, including the human body. Only one
out of every trillion or so carbon atoms is the carbon-14
(or carbon with six protons and eight neutrons) radioisotope,
which looks like
You have many, many trillions of trillions of trillions of
carbon atoms in your body, which means that you contain
trillions of atoms of radioactive carbon! Now before
you go checking the mirror to see if you have sprouted a
third eye, rest assured that this radioactive carbon will
not harm you in any way. In fact, it is what allows scientists
to determine the age of fossils.
As an example, take Matilda the Mammoth, who met her
untimely end 4,500 years ago. While Matilda was alive,
the carbon in her body was constantly being replenished,
so she was always made of about 99 percent
carbon-12, 1 percent carbon-13, and 0.0000000001 percent
carbon-14. However, when poor Matilda kicked the
bucket, the biological processes that were replacing the
carbon in her body came to an abrupt end. With their
supply of carbon-14 cut off, Matilda’s bones slowly lost
their carbon-14 as it broke down through radioactive
decay into nitrogen. Paleontologists digging up Matilda
4,500 years later will run straight to their friendly neighborhood
chemist, Dr. Isotopian, and ask him to tell them
how much carbon-14 is left in Matilda. Because carbon-
14 breaks down at a very predictable rate, Dr. Isotopian
is able to guess to within a few hundred years exactly
how long ago Matilda kicked the bucket.
6

14 C
6

13 C
6

12 C