Question

​A carbon atom has 6 protons and 6 electrons. Carbon has three naturally occurring isotopes, carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. Which of these statements is true about carbon and its isotopes? A.​All carbon atoms have six neutrons. B.​All carbon atoms have six protons and six electrons. C.​Atoms of all carbon isotopes have either more than 6 electrons or fewer than 6 electrons.

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct option is B

Explanation:

Isotopes of the same element have the same atomic number (number of protons) but different mass number. Hence, all the three naturally occurring carbon isotopes mentioned in the question have 6 protons each. Since the number of protons in a neutral atom is equal to the number of electrons in the same atom, each of these isotopes also have 6 electrons.

However, to determine the number of neutrons in each atom, the number of protons (atomic number) is subtracted from the mass number.

Hence, the number of neutrons in carbon-12 is 12 - 6 = 6

the number of neutrons in carbon-13 is 13 - 6 = 7

the number of neutrons in carbon-14 is 14 - 6 = 8

From the explanation above, it can be noted that the number of protons and electrons in isotopes of the same element are the same while the number of neutrons in these isotopes are different. Hence, the correct option is B