Ch.4 Atoms and Elements

Timberlake - Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry 14th Edition

Timberlake14th EditionChemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological ChemistryISBN: 9781292472249Not the one you use?Change textbook

Timberlake 14th Edition

Ch.4 Atoms and Elements

Problem 38c

Chapter 4, Problem 38c

Write the atomic symbol for the isotope with each of the following characteristics:
c. 25 electrons and 28 neutrons

Verified step by step guidance

Determine the atomic number of the element based on the number of electrons. Since the number of electrons equals the number of protons in a neutral atom, the atomic number is 25. Look up the periodic table to find the element with atomic number 25, which is manganese (Mn).

Calculate the mass number of the isotope. The mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons. Using the given values, mass number = 25 (protons) + 28 (neutrons) = 53.

Write the atomic symbol for the isotope. The format for an isotope is:

A^{Z} Element

, where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number, and Element is the chemical symbol. For this isotope, it will be

53^{25} Mn

Verify the isotope notation. Ensure that the atomic number (25) matches manganese on the periodic table and that the mass number (53) is correctly calculated.

Understand the significance of isotopes. Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons but differ in the number of neutrons, which affects their mass number but not their chemical properties.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Atomic Number

The atomic number of an element is defined as the number of protons in its nucleus, which also equals the number of electrons in a neutral atom. In this case, with 25 electrons, the atomic number is 25, indicating that the element is manganese (Mn).

Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. For the element with 25 protons (manganese), having 28 neutrons results in the isotope manganese-53, as the mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons.

Atomic Symbol

The atomic symbol is a notation that represents a chemical element, consisting of one or two letters derived from its name, often accompanied by the mass number. For manganese-53, the atomic symbol is written as 53Mn, where '53' indicates the mass number and 'Mn' is the symbol for manganese.

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