COMMON ISOTOPES
Atoms of the same element can
have a different number of
neutrons. This means that they
have different mass numbers but
the same atomic number. These
atoms are referred to as isotopes
which follow the same
configuration for elements.
Courtesy Christy Johannesson www.nisd.net/communicationsarts/pages/chem
Isotopes
• Atoms of the same element with
different mass numbers.
Another way of representing isotopes is by
writing the element name or symbol followed
by a hyphen and then the mass number. Thus,
protium,deuterium, and tritium may be written
as hydrogen1 (H-1), hydrogen-2 (H-2), and
hydrogen-3 (H-3), respectively.
Isotopes
• Nuclear symbol:
Mass # 12
Atomic # 6 C
• Hyphen notation: carbon-12
Courtesy Christy Johannesson www.nisd.net/communicationsarts/pages/chem
Isotopes
Neutron
+ +
+
Electrons
Nucleus
+
+ + Proton
Nucleus
Proton
Nucleus +
+ Neutron
Carbon-12
+
Neutrons 6 + +
Electrons
Protons 6
Electrons 6 +
Carbon-14
Neutrons 8
Protons 6 Nucleus
Electrons 6
6Li 7Li
3 p+ 2e– 1e– 3 p+ 2e– 1e–
3 n0 4 n0
Neutron Neutron
Electrons Electrons
Nucleus + Nucleus
+
+ + Proton + + Proton
Nucleus Nucleus
Lithium-6 Lithium-7
Neutrons 3 Neutrons 4
Protons 3 Protons 3
Electrons 3 Electrons 3
17
Cl
Isotopes 37
• Chlorine-37
– atomic #: 17
– mass #: 37
– # of protons: 17 37
– # of electrons: 17
– # of neutrons: 20
17 Cl
Courtesy Christy Johannesson www.nisd.net/communicationsarts/pages/chem
a. Cobalt has an atomic number (Z) of 27 which is
equal to the number of protons in an atom of
cobalt-60. Its mass number is
(A) 60. Therefore,
✓ number of protons = 27
✓ number of electrons = number of protons = 27
✓ number of neutrons = A – Z = 60 – 27 = 33
Its isotopic symbol is
COMMON ISOTOPES AND THEIR USES
Many isotopes are used in different industries.
Naturally occurring uranium consists of 99.3%
uranium-238, 0.711% uranium-235 and 0.006%
uranium-234. These percentages are referred
to as isotopic abundances. Uranium isotopes
are principal fuels for nuclear reactors.
Uranium-238 is also used to determine the age
of sediments from marine environments.
Carbon has several known isotopes
however naturally occurring carbon
consists of 98.93% of carbon-12 and 1.07%
of carbon-13. Its other isotopes are
short-lived and are present in very small
amounts. An example is
carbon-14 which is used in the carbon
dating of archaeological materials.
Isotopes are also utilized in medicine.
In radioisotope therapy,iodine131 is
taken orally to help treat thyroid
cancer. Radiation from technetium-
99 is used to produce images of
specific organs in the body for medical
diagnosis and treatment.
