Unit 1

Date: _____________________

Topic 3 - Understanding Atomic Mass (1.2 & 1.4)

Learning Goals
By the end of this package you should be able to:
 Define and calculate the atomic number, mass number of an element.
 Determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an element.
 Represent atoms using each of three methods.
 Define and describe the importance of isotopes.
 Perform calculations involving relative atomic mass.
 Define and explain the importance and properties of radioisotopes.
 Identify and describe the properties of the three types of radiation.

Read p. 15-16, 23-27 in your textbook. Complete the definitions in the tables below. The rest will be
completed in class.

Atom
 The _________________ particle of an element that still ____________ the identity and
properties of the element
o Composed of a ____________, ____________and ____________
o Relative masses and charges of subatomic particles:
Subatomic Particle Mass (u) Relative Charge Location
Electron

Proton

Neutron

Term Definition

Atomic
Number (Z)

Mass Number
(A)

Symbolism Representing an Individual Atom of an Element

Symbol Notation
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

Sample Problem 1
The nucleus of an atom of potassium contains 19 protons and 20 neutrons.
a) Determine the atomic number (Z) and mass number (A) of this potassium atom.
b) Write the symbol for this potassium atom three different ways.

Isotopes
 Frederick Soddy (1877-1956).

Term Definition

Isotope

Examples of Isotopes

Cl-35 Cl-37
Mass Number

Atomic Number

# of Protons

# of Electrons

# of Neutrons

 Hydrogen has three different isotopes:

o Normal 1 proton, 0 neutrons
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

o Deuterium 1 proton, 1 neutron

o Tritium 1 proton, 2 neutron
 It is the _____________ and _____________ in atoms that are largely responsible for
determining the element’s _____________ behaviour
o ∴ isotopes of the same element share chemical properties despite their slight difference
in mass
 HOWEVER, their physical properties ___________________________

Measurement of Atomic Masses

• Since atoms are so small, their masses are very low
• It is ∴ very difficult to measure the mass of an atom by conventional means
• Instead, we compare atomic masses in order to determine a _______________________
o Atomic mass - the relative mass of an atom in atomic mass units (u)
• An atom of __________________ is the standard
o i.e., every atomic mass is determined relative to carbon-12
o Carbon-12 has a mass of 12 atomic mass units
o ∴ we define the unified atomic mass unit (u) as 1/12 of the mass of a carbon-12 atom
• On this scale the proton and the neutron both have a mass close to 1 u while
the electron has a mass of 0.00055 u
o 1 u = 1.6605402 ×10-27 kg
• Why Carbon?
o Carbon is a very ______________ element
o By assigning a value of 12 to C-12, the atomic masses of nearly all the other elements
are very close to ____________________, with the lightest atom having a mass of very
close to 1

Average Atomic Mass

 Periodic Table shows the average atomic masses.
 A _________________________ of the masses of all isotopes of an element
 Formula:

Sample Problem 2
Magnesium has three naturally occurring isotopes. Mg-24 has an abundance of 80.00%, Mg-25 and Mg-
26 each have an abundance of 10.00%. What is the average atomic mass of magnesium?

Sample Problem 3
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

Neon has two major isotopes, Neon-20 and Neon-22. Out of every 250 neon atoms, 225 will be Neon-20
and 25 will be Neon-22. What is the average atomic mass of Neon?

Isotopic Abundance
• Existence of isotopes explains why most elements have atomic masses that are not whole
numbers
• For most elements, the isotopic composition of any given sample is constant
• Any sample of naturally occurring carbon has the same percentage of the two non-radioactive
isotopes of carbon, C-12 and C-13
• Because of this constant isotopic composition, we can use an average value for the atomic mass
of carbon, taking into account the percentage of each isotope in a typical sample
o i.e., Naturally occurring samples of carbon consists of 98.89% C-12 and 1.11% C-13

Radioisotopes
• Many elements have one or more isotopes that are unstable
• Atoms of unstable isotopes decay, emitting radiation as their nucleus changes
• Depending on the isotope, these nuclear changes might happen very quickly or extremely slowly
• And the radiation they emit could be fairly harmless or very dangerous
• Isotopes that can decay this way are known as radioisotopes and are said to be radioactive

Characteristics of a Nuclear Reaction

Radiation Approximate Speed Penetration in Air Effective Barrier
Alpha (α)

Beta (β)

Gamma (γ)

Alpha Decay
 An alpha particle is composed of two protons and two neutrons
 Radioactive decay of uranium-238, which results in the production of an alpha particle, alters
the composition of its nucleus, producing thorium-234:

Beta Decay
• Beta particles are high- energy electrons
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

o Results from the conversion of a neutron into a proton and electron

• When tritium decays, a beta particle is produced

Gamma Radiation
• Gamma radiation refers to high-energy electromagnetic waves
o Emission of a gamma ray alone does not result in any changes to the mass number or
atomic number of an isotope

Uses of Radioisotopes
 Nuclear power plants
 Preservation of food
 Forensic techniques
 Structural engineering
 Sterilization of surgical instruments
 Archeological dating
 Medical diagnostics
 Radiotherapy

Carbon-14 Dating
• Carbon-14 is a radioisotope of carbon
• The relative abundance of carbon-14 in living things is constant, even though it decays, because
it is replenished from CO2 in the atmosphere
• When an organism dies, carbon-14 is no longer replenished and starts to decay at a predictable
rate.
o The half life of C-14 is 5730 a

Radiotherapy
• Cobalt-60 is a radioisotope used in radiation therapy in the treatment of cancer
• It emits gamma radiation
• The radiation damages the DNA of the cell and stops its growth and reproduction
• Healthy cells are also affected, but the radiation is targeted to minimize the effect on healthy
cells

Medical Tracers
• Iodine-131 is a common medical tracer
• Its chemical properties are the same as any other isotope of iodine, and so is treated by the
body in the same way
• Since it is radioactive, once it is absorbed by the body, it can easily be detected
• I-131 is used in the diagnosis of thyroid conditions, since iodine is naturally concentrated in the
thyroid gland

Half-Life
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

• Every radioisotope has a characteristic property called its half-life

• Half-life is the time it takes for one-half the nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay
• Half-lifes of radioisotopes vary considerably
o Cesium-142 has a half life of 5×1015 years
o Polonium-216 has a half life of only 0.16 s
o Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years

Sample Problem 4
The half-life of cesium-137 is 30 years. What mass of cesium-137 would remain from a 12 g sample after
30 years? After 60 years?

Success Criteria
1 2 3 Success Criteria
I can define and calculate the atomic number, mass number of an element.
I can determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an element.
I can represent atoms using each of three methods.
I can define and describe the importance of isotopes.
I can perform calculations involving relative atomic mass.
I can define and explain the importance and properties of radioisotopes.
I can identify and describe the properties of the three types of radiation.
1 (Green) – Thorough Understanding; 2 (Yellow) – Developing Understanding; 3 (Red) – Limited Understanding.
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

Protons, Neutrons and Electrons Practice Worksheet

Fill in the blanks in the following worksheet. Please keep in mind that the isotope represented by each
space may NOT be the most common isotope or the one closest in atomic mass to the value on the
periodic table.
Unit 1
Date: _____________________

Average Atomic Mass Worksheet

Use GRASS to solve each of the following problems.

1. Rubidium has two common isotopes, 85Rb and 87Rb. If the abundance of 85Rb is 72.2% and the
abundance of 87Rb is 27.8%, what is the average atomic mass of rubidium?

2. Uranium has three common isotopes. If the abundance of U-234 is 0.01%, the abundance of U-235 is
0.71%, and the abundance of U-238 is 99.28%, what is the average atomic mass of uranium?

3. Titanium has five common isotopes: 46Ti (8.0%), 47Ti (7.8%), 48Ti (73.4%), 49Ti (5.5%), 50Ti (5.3%). What is
the average atomic mass of titanium?

4. Explain why atoms have different isotopes. In other words, how is that helium can exist in three
different forms?