Question

How do scientists determine the number of neutrons in an isotope of an atom? O They find the number of protons. 0 They add the number of electrons and protons. They divide the atomic mass by two. They subtract the atomic number from the atomic mass. ​

Answer 1

Answer:

The three naturally-occurring isotopes of hydrogen. The fact that each isotope has one proton makes them all variants of hydrogen: the identity of the isotope is given by the number of protons and neutrons. From left to right, the isotopes are protium (1H) with zero neutrons, deuterium (2H) with one neutron, and tritium (3H) with two neutrons.

The term isotope is formed from the Greek roots isos (ἴσος "equal") and topos (τόπος "place"), meaning "the same place"; thus, the meaning behind the name is that different isotopes of a single element occupy the same position on the periodic table.[2] It was coined by a Scottish doctor and writer Margaret Todd in 1913 in a suggestion to chemist Frederick Soddy.

The number of protons within the atom's nucleus is called atomic number and is equal to the number of electrons in the neutral (non-ionized) atom. Each atomic number identifies a specific element, but not the isotope; an atom of a given element may have a wide range in its number of neutrons. The number of nucleons (both protons and neutrons) in the nucleus is the atom's mass number, and each isotope of a given element has a different mass number.

For example, carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14 are three isotopes of the element carbon with mass numbers 12, 13, and 14, respectively. The atomic number of carbon is 6, which means that every carbon atom has 6 protons, so that the neutron numbers of these isotopes are 6, 7, and 8 respectively.