Isotopes & relative atomic mass

    Cards (9)

    • Isotopes are different forms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
    • Because isotopes have different number of neutrons different isotopes will have different masses
    • Relative atomic mass is the calculation of the average mass of all the isotopes that make up an element
    • Isotope abundance is how common or rare the isotope is
    • Relative atomic mass equation
      Sum of ( isotope abundance x isotope mass) / sum of abundance of all isotopes
    • Relative atomic mass symbol is Ar
      • The symbol for an isotope is the chemical symbol (or word) followed by a dash and then the mass number
      • So, C-14 is the isotope of carbon which contains 6 protons and 6 electrons, but the 14 signifies that it has 8 neutrons (14 - 6 = 8)
      • 6 is the number of protons
      • It can also be written as 14C
      • Isotopes display the same chemical characteristics
      • This is because they have the same number of electrons in their outer shells, and this is what determines their chemistry
    • isotopes hydrogen
      Structure of isotopes hydrogen
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