isotopes

• atoms of the same elements have the same number of...

  protons
• atomic number


  the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
• isotopes are different forms of...

  the same element
• isotopes


  atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons
• do all elements have different isotopes?

  yes but there are usually only one or two stable ones
• what does it mean if an isotope is stable?

  they do not change and do not emit radioactive radiation
• what does it mean if an isotope is unstable?

  they decay into other elements and give out radiation to become more stable
• what do unstable isotopes release?

  ionising radiation from their nucleus
• ionising radiation


  radiation with enough energy that to remove tightly bound electrons from the orbit of an atom, causing that atom to become charged or ionised
• what is the name given to an isotope if its nucleus is unstable?


  radioisotope