Question

Define atomic numberand mass number. Which can vary without changing the identity of the element?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Atomic number is defined as the number of an element which represents total number of protons.

When an atom is neutral then it means it contains same number of protons and electrons.

On the other hand, atomic mass is defined as the sum of total number of protons and neutrons present in an atom.

Protons of every element remains fixed because it shows the identity of each element but if we change the number of neutrons then also identity of the atom will remain fixed. This is because changing the number of neutrons will not show any change in number of protons.

For example, $^{2}_{1}H$ and $^{3}_{1}H$ are isotopes of hydrogen and they have same number of protons but different number of neutrons.

Thus, we can conclude that number of neutrons can vary without changing the identity of the element.