GCSE - Chemistry

Isotopes and RAM

https://vizi.education
Name:
Atoms and isotopes GCSE Chemistry
Date:

Isotopes
I can…. R A G

Identify the number of protons in an atom from a diagram

Identify the number of neutrons in an atom from a diagram

State a definition for the atomic number

State a definition for the mass number

Calculate the number of neutrons in an atom from information

State a definition for relative atomic mass (RAM)

State a definition for an isotope

Identify examples of isotopes

Describe the difference between isotopes of the same atom

Calculate the % abundance of different isotopes of an atom

Explain how % abundance affects RAM

Key words:
Atom, proton, neutron, nucleus, mass number, atomic number,
relative atomic mass, isotope, chemical properties, % abundance
Inside the atom
Atoms consist of:
● A nucleus - containing protons and neutrons
● Electrons surrounding the nucleus - held by the electrostatic force of
attraction

Range of atomic diameter:

Relative charge Relative mass
−10
1 × 10 m (0.1nm) - can only be Particle compared to compared to
proton proton
viewed with a scanning electron
microscope. +1 1
Proton

Neutron 0 1
The nucleus is around 0.0000l
times the diameter of a typical Electron -1 0.0005
atom!

The proton and electron have

equally and opposite charges, so
an uncharged atom has equal
numbers of protons and
electrons.
The nucleus of an atom has an
overall positive charge.

Identifying particles on a diagram

1. Look for an identifying key on the diagram (as in the one above)
2. Electrons are in shells around the nucleus and protons and neutrons are inside the
nucleus
3. Look for particles with a + sign on them - these will be protons
4. If they are not labelled - count the different particles! For an uncharged atoms there
should be the same number of PROTONS and ELECTRONS. (e.g. above there are 4
electrons and 4 red particles - these are protons!)
Key numbers

There is a lot of information we could deal with for each atom: diameter, nucleus
diameter, numbers of protons, neutrons, electrons, charges, masses…… so much data!

To keep it simple we tend to just deal with 2 main numbers (the ones we list on the
periodic table) and work out other things from them:

The atomic number (Z) of an element tells you the number of protons an
atom of the element contains. Every atom of an element contains the same
number of protons - the atom is defined by the atomic number. If we change
the number of protons, we change the atom.

The mass number (A) or nucleon number of one specific atom is the total
number of nucleons in the atom - that is the total number of particles in the
nucleus.
Simply, it is the total mass of the protons plus the neutrons in the nucleus
(the nucleons) which is where most of the mass of the atom is.

Because they each have a relative mass of one we can summarise this as:

Mass number = number of protons + number of neutrons

Counting particles
Protons: The atomic number (Z) of an element tells you the number of protons an atom
of the element contains.
Every atom of an element contains the same number of protons - the atom is defined by
the atomic number.

Neutrons: The difference between the mass number of the atom and the atomic number
gives the number of neutrons.

Number of neutrons = mass number - number of protons

Number of neutrons = mass number - atomic number
Neutrons = A - Z
Different atoms of the same element can have a different number of neutrons.
These are called different isotopes of the same element. Different isotopes of an element
can have different stabilities.
(Sometimes, an atom will have the same numbers of protons and neutrons but this is not a rule.)

Electrons: For an atom (uncharged) the number of electrons is equal to the number of
protons in the atom.
If the number of electrons in the atom are changed the atom becomes charged (an ion).
Ions can be negatively charged (more electrons than protons) or positively charged (more
protons than electrons).
Isotopes
Isotopes are atoms of the same chemical element, with the
same chemical properties and the same number of protons,
that have different numbers of neutrons.

We can identify isotopes by looking for examples of atoms or

elements that have the same symbol and atomic number but
different mass numbers.

Wording use:
There is not one ‘correct’ mass number for an element with
‘outliers’ that we call isotopes. Any 2 or more examples of an
element with different mass numbers are described as being
isotopes of each other.
 Isotopes
Different natural isotopes of elements (atoms with different numbers of neutrons) exist.

In order to choose a mass value for the periodic table, an average is produced based on
the natural abundance (number of each isotope) in nature.

The relative atomic mass is calculate based on these percentage abundances.

With % values, we can treat the problem as

though we have a total 100 atoms.
We can then treat the number of atoms of
each individual isotope as the number out of
100 we have (the % value).

Example
Use the isotope
abundance information
to calculate the RAM of
chlorine:
Name:
Date: Isotopes - step 1 review GCSE Chemistry

3 things I have learned: 3 questions I have:

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

I am going to get answers to

my questions by:
Name:
GCSE Chemistry
Date:
Isotopes - step 2 review
Atoms and Isotopes
Section 1 - Recall

1. What is the definition of atomic number?

2. What is the definition of mass number?
3. What does RAM stand for?
4. What is the definition of RAM?
5. What is the definition of an isotope?
6.

Section 2 - Application

1. How is it possible for atoms of the same element to have different masses?
2. Explain why Sr-88 and Sr-90 are isotopes.
3. On the periodic table, Chlorine has a RAM of 35.5, how is this possible?
4. What is the difference between the atomic number of an element and the
mass number?
5. An atom loses electrons, has it become an isotope?
6. Describe the difference in atomic structure of an atom of C-12 and one of
C-14
7. A sample of boron contains the two isotopes, boron-10 and boron-11. The
relative atomic mass of boron is 10.8 Give the reason why the relative
atomic mass is closer to 11 than 10.
Multiple Choice
/8
These have been marked:
❏ By me
❏ By a peer
❏ By the teacher

How I did compared to how I thought I would do:

My next steps:
Name:
Date:

Exam style questions /82

The next few questions are stepped up a level
 Isotopes - step 3 review
My questions have been marked:
❏ By me
❏ By a peer
❏ By the teacher

How I did compared to how I thought I would do:

My next steps:

Questions I have now on Isotopes and RAM:

1.

2.

3.