Question

expain why different atoms of the same element always have the same atomic number but can have different mass numbers what are these different atoms called ?

Answer 1

The atomic number tells you the number of protons in an atom. This value never changes because the number of protons in the nucleus always remains constant. The mass number tells you the number of protons and neutrons (or nucleons) together: protons + neutrons = mass number. Since the number of neutrons in the nucleus varies, you can have different amounts of neutrons in the same type of atom. These varied types are called isotopes.

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