Isotopes & ram

• Isotopes


  Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
• Relative Atomic Mass (RAM)

  The average mass of all the isotopes of an element in a normal sample of the element
• The relative atomic mass of an element is rarely a whole number as it is the average of the masses of all the isotopes of an element
• The relative atomic mass can therefore give an indication of the most common isotope in a sample as it will be closer to the most common type of isotope in the sample
• Protons


  Positively charged subatomic particles found in the nucleus of an atom
• Electrons


  Negatively charged subatomic particles found in the outer part of an atom
• Neutrons


  Subatomic particles found in the nucleus of an atom that have no charge
• Atomic number


  The number of protons in an atom
• Mass number


  The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom