Isotopes by Abbey

Have you ever wondered how an atom works? There are many parts of an atom making it all work. One part we have been focusing on this week is an isotope. Atoms that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are called “isotopes.” Every element from the periodic table has some type of isotopic form.Carbon 12 and 14 would be good examples to describe an isotope. They both have 6 protons, Carbon 12 has 6 neutrons and Carbon 14 has 8 neutrons. So, what’s the difference between ions and isotopes? These are similar to ions which have the same protons but different electrons. I found it interesting how an atom can be so different because of one less electron/neutron. In chemistry we recently did an experiment using m&m’s to find the average atomic mass of a “new element.” In my head i compared how the m&m’s related to an isotope. Although there were different colors and numbers of m&m’s, they are all the same element. This represents the neutrons in an isotope well.

Interesting Facts

●     There are 254 known stable isotopes and 80 elements which have at least one stable isotope

●     Twenty-six elements only have one stable isotope. These elements are called monoisotopic.

●     All non-natural or man-made elements are radioactive isotopes.