A nitrogen atom has 7 protons, and its most common isotope has 7 neutrons. A radioactive isotope of nitrogen has 9 neutrons. What is the atomic number and what is the mass number of this radioactive nitrogen? Show all of your work for full credit
# protons = atomic number
#protons + #neutrons = mass number.
To determine the atomic number and mass number of the radioactive isotope of nitrogen, we need to understand the atomic structure and the notation used for isotopes.
The atomic number of an element represents the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. In this case, nitrogen has 7 protons in the nucleus.
The mass number of an atom is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. For nitrogen's most common isotope, there are 7 neutrons. However, for the radioactive isotope of nitrogen, there are 9 neutrons.
To summarize:
- Protons = 7
- Neutrons (for most common isotope) = 7
- Neutrons (for radioactive isotope) = 9
Now we can determine the atomic number and mass number for the radioactive isotope of nitrogen.
Atomic number = Number of protons = 7
Mass number = Number of protons + Number of neutrons = 7 + 9 = 16
Therefore, the atomic number of this radioactive isotope of nitrogen is 7, and the mass number is 16.
The atomic number of an atom is equal to the number of protons in its nucleus. In this case, since a nitrogen atom has 7 protons, the atomic number is 7.
The mass number of an atom is equal to the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. For the most common isotope of nitrogen, which has 7 neutrons, the mass number is calculated as:
Mass number = Protons + Neutrons
= 7 + 7
= 14
Now, for the radioactive isotope of nitrogen, which has 9 neutrons, we can calculate its mass number:
Mass number = Protons + Neutrons
= 7 + 9
= 16
Therefore, the atomic number of this radioactive nitrogen is 7, and its mass number is 16.