ALL ABOUT

ISOTOPES
What Happens When You
Remove A Neutron From
An Atom?

When you remove or add a

neutron to the nucleus of an
atom, the resulting substance
is a new type of the same
element and is called an
isotope.

TRivia TIme!
Everything you see around you
is made up of matter, and all
matter is made up of atoms.
Can atoms be further broken
down? Definitely. Atoms are
made up of protons, neutrons,
electrons and a bunch of
different subatomic particles
that most of us are unaware of.

An atom primarily contains

protons, electrons, and
neutrons. The addition or
removal of any one of these
particles alters the properties
and identity of the atom
 Isotopes

Definition!

When you remove or

add a neutron to the
nucleus of an atom, you
don’t technically get a
new element, but you do
have a new type of the
same element in your
hand

This new type is called an

“isotope” of the element.
Isotopes are formally
defined as elements with
the same number of
protons, but a different
number of neutrons in the
nucleus.

Another definition of isotopes

defines them as atoms with the
same atomic number (number of
protons), but different atomic
mass numbers (the sum of
neutrons and protons of an
atom). Isotopes of an element
also have the same number of
electrons.

 Example!

For example,
let’s use the launched
iPhones on year 2019
to understand the
concept of isotopes in
a more accessible way.
Apple recently released three new
devices in the Apple iPhone series,
namely, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro
and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The Pro and
Pro Max are nothing but a different
variant or type of the iPhone 11.
The two may be identified as a type
of the iPhone 11 because they use
the same A13 Bionic chip, or simply
because they were released in the
year 2019.

All the elements are identified

solely based on their atomic
number, i.e., the number of
protons in the nucleus. So,
similar to the iPhones, elements
with the same number of
protons (iPhones with an A13
chip), but a different number of
neutrons (different number of
cameras or battery size) are
identified as different types of
the same element, instead of an
altogether new element.

 H i s t o r y of
i s o t o p es

F r e d e r ic k
s od d y
The existence of radioactive isotopes
was first discerned by Frederick
Soddy, a radiochemist, in the year
1913, while studying radioactive
cascades (a series of radioactive
decays). Soddy found 40 different
element species (referred to as
radioelements) between uranium and
lead.

K a z im ie r s
f a ja n s
However, the periodic table allowed
for only 11 elements between the two.
In an attempt to place these 40
elements in the periodic table,
Frederick Soddy and Kazimierz Fajans
came up with the radioactive
displacement theory.

The theory proposed that

alpha decay (radioactive decay
in which an atom emits a
helium nucleus,
i.e., 2 protons and 2 neutrons)
produces an element two
places to the left of the parent
element in the periodic table,
whereas beta decay (emission
of an electron or positron)
results in an element one place
to the right of the parent.
 A visual
representation of
the elements
formed following
each type of
decay. Here, N is
the number of
neutrons and Z
stands for the
atomic number.
(Photo Credit :
MarsRover/Wiki
media Commons)

However, Soddy noticed that

some radioelements had different
atomic weights/masses, but
retained the chemical properties
of their parent element, and
should, therefore, occupy the
same place in the periodic table.

Margaret
Todd
Margaret Todd, a friend of Frederick
Soddy, coined the term “isotopes” for
these radioelements. The word isotope is
Greek for “at the same place”.
Soddy was awarded the
Nobel prize for chemistry
in 1921 for his
contributions to the
understanding of
radioactive elements and
the investigation and
discovery of isotopes.

J. J. Thomson

J. J. Thomson found the first

stable isotopes of an element in
the year 1913.
 Conclusion!
This might be a fascinating subject,
but removing neutrons from the
nucleus of an atom is no walk in the
park. Isotopes are primarily found on
the used rods of nuclear reactors,
as by products of nuclear reactions.
They are artificially produced by
bombarding stable atoms with alpha
particles (helium nucleus) in a
particle accelerator. Other methods
include irradiating parent isotopes
with neutrons in a nuclear reactor
or using a cyclotron.
Radioactive isotopes find use in a
variety of fields. The most
promising is the discipline of nuclear
medicine and the treatment of
cancer. Industrial uses include
homeland security, food irradiation,
industrial radiography, geology,
astronomy, etc. As we continue to
discover more isotopes in the
future, who knows what new uses
we’ll find!

Source:
ScienceABC.com

Prepared by:
Liza Mae Laput
12-STEM 2

Mr. John Roy Deguzman

(Chemistry Teacher)