Q.What is isotope? Write with an example. OR What is isobar? Write with an example.
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🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Concept understanding — Atomic Notation
Atomic Notation: The ID Card of an Atom
Imagine you're at a huge stadium filled with people. To identify any one person, you'd need more than just a name — you'd need their jersey number, their team, maybe their position. An atom is the same way. Just saying "carbon" or "oxygen" tells you the kind of atom, but not the full story. Atomic notation is the shorthand that gives you the complete identity.
The Intuition: Three Numbers, One Symbol
Every atom is built from three key particles:
- Protons (positive charge) — these define what element it is.
- Neutrons (no charge) — these add mass and stability.
- Electrons (negative charge) — these orbit the nucleus and determine chemical behaviour.
Atomic notation packs all this information around the element's symbol. Think of it as a label with two numbers attached:
ZAX
Where:
- X is the element symbol (e.g., C for carbon, O for oxygen).
- Z is the atomic number (number of protons).
- A is the mass number (protons + neutrons).
The atomic number Z is what makes an atom that element. Change Z, and you change the element entirely. Carbon always has Z=6; if you change it to 7, it's nitrogen.
The Precise Statement
For any atom represented as ZAX:
- Atomic number Z = number of protons = number of electrons (in a neutral atom).
- Mass number A = number of protons + number of neutrons.
- Number of neutrons N=A−Z.
A neutral atom has equal protons and electrons. If the atom gains or loses electrons, it becomes an ion — but the notation for the nucleus stays the same.
Example: Carbon-12
The most common carbon atom is written as:
612C
From this:
- Z=6 → 6 protons, and in a neutral atom, 6 electrons.
- A=12 → total nucleons (protons + neutrons) = 12.
- Neutrons N=12−6=6.
Why Two Numbers? Why Not Just One?
If you only knew the mass number A, you wouldn't know the element — because different elements can have the same mass number (e.g., 14C and 14N both have A=14). If you only knew the atomic number Z, you wouldn't know how many neutrons are present — and that matters for isotopes.
Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same Z) with different numbers of neutrons (different A). For example:
- 612C (6 neutrons)
- 613C (7 neutrons)
- 614C (8 neutrons) All are carbon, but they have different masses and some are radioactive.
A Quick Table for Clarity
| Notation | Element | Protons (Z) | Neutrons (N) | Mass Number (A) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11H | Hydrogen | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24He | Helium | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 1123Na | Sodium | 11 | 12 | 23 |
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons (atomic number) but a different number of neutrons, and hence different mass numbers. …
Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same number of protons/atomic number) that differ in their number of neutrons, and therefore have different mass numbers.
All atoms of a given element have the same atomic number (Z), which is the number of protons in the nucleus, since this number defines the element's chemical identity. However, atoms of the same element can have different numbers of neutrons, which changes their mass number (A = number of protons + neutrons) without changing which element they are. Such atoms are called isotopes.
Example: Hydrogen has three naturally occurring isotopes —
- Protium, 1H1 (1 proton, 0 neutrons)
- Deuterium, 1H2 (1 proton, 1 neutron) …
Showing the 12 most recent of 20 on this concept.
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If the number of protons and neutrons of an element is 13 and 14 respectively, then what are the atomic number (Z) and mass number (A)?(a) 13, 13(b) 13, 27(c) 14, 13(d) 27, 14
›Reveal solutionSolution
Atomic number (Z) equals the number of protons; mass number (A) equals the sum of protons and neutrons.
Given: number of protons = 13, number of neutrons = 14.
Atomic number, Z = number of protons = 13.
Mass number, A = number of protons + number of neutrons = 13 + 14 = 27.
…
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.In ⁸⁰₃₅Br, the number of neutrons is ______.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The bromine nuclide with mass number 80 and atomic number 35 has 45 neutrons.
A nuclide is written as (mass number)/(atomic number) Symbol, i.e., mass number A on top and atomic number Z below, attached to the element symbol. Here A = 80 (mass number = total number of protons + neutrons) and Z = 35 (atomic number = numb …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If atomic mass of an element is 23 and its atomic number is 11, then the number of neutrons in an atom of the element would be(a) 23(b) 12(c) 11(d) 34
›Reveal solutionSolution
Neutrons = mass number − atomic number = 23 − 11 = 12.
Atomic number (Z) = number of protons = 11. Mass number (A) = protons + neutrons = 23. …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Atoms having same atomic number but different mass numbers are called(a) Polymers(b) Isomers(c) Isotopes(d) Isobars
›Reveal solutionSolution
Same atomic number, different mass number = isotopes.
Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same number of protons, same Z) that differ in the number of neutrons, hence different mass numbers. Example: 1H, 2H, 3 …
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Calculate the number of electrons, protons and neutrons in 35Br80.(a) 35, 45, 35(b) 35, 35, 45(c) 35, 36, 45(d) 36, 35, 45
›Reveal solutionSolution
For a neutral atom, protons = electrons = atomic number (Z); neutrons = mass number (A) - Z. For 35Br80: 35 protons, 35 electrons, 45 neutrons.
The notation ZX^A (or here, 35Br80) gives the atomic number Z = 35 as a subscript and the mass number A = 80 as a superscript, for the element bromine (Br).
Step 1 — Protons: The atomic number Z directly equals the number of protons in the nucleus.
Protons = Z = 35
Step 2 — Electrons: In a neutral (uncharged) atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons.
Electrons = 35
…
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.An ion B^2- has 18 electrons and 16 neutrons. Its mass number will be -(a) 34(b) 32(c) 18(d) 16
›Reveal solutionSolution
For B2- with 18 electrons and 16 neutrons, the number of protons is 16 (since the 2- charge means 2 extra electrons over protons), giving mass number = 16 + 16 = 32.
A B2- ion carries a charge of -2, meaning it has 2 more electrons than protons (since each extra electron adds one unit of negative charge).
Number of electrons = 18 …
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Give one example of isotones.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Isotones = same neutron count, different element; e.g. 14C (8n) and 15N (8n).
Isotones are atoms of different elements that have the same number of neutrons (but different atomic numbers and different mass numbers). Number of neutrons = mass number − atomic number.
…
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.By which of the following is positron represented?(a) 0/-1 e(b) 0/+1 e(c) 1/1 H(d) None of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
Positron is represented as ⁰₊₁e — zero mass number (in nucleon terms), +1 charge.
A positron is a positively charged particle with the same (negligible, ~1/1837 amu) mass as an electron, so its mass number is written as 0, and …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Match the correct pair -- the isotope written as mass number 80, atomic number 35 (Bromine-80, ^80_35Br) should be matched with the correct item from Column B:(a) 45 Neutron(b) Octahedral(c) mol L^-1(d) ΔS = q(rev)/T(e) (triangle symbol, drawn as a downward-pointing triangle -- representing a 3-membered ring shape)
›Reveal solutionSolution
Number of neutrons = mass number (A) - atomic number (Z). For A = 80, Z = 35 (Bromine-80): neutrons = 80 - 35 = 45, matching option (a).
…
- CBSE 2022Set TERM11 markMCQQ.Number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the element 89X^231 is(a) 89, 89, 242(b) 89, 142, 89(c) 89, 71, 89(d) 89, 231, 89
›Reveal solutionSolution
For a neutral atom written as (mass number)X(atomic number): protons = atomic number, neutrons = mass number - atomic number, electrons = protons.
Here the atomic number (subscript, number of protons) is 89, and the mass number (superscript, protons + neutrons) is 231.
- Protons = atomic number = 89 …
- CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If atomic number of an element is 25 and its atomic mass is 55, then its nucleus contains:(a) 25 Protons and 3 neutrons(b) 55 Proton(c) 25 Protons and 30 neutrons(d) 55 neutrons
›Reveal solutionSolution
With atomic number 25 and mass number 55, the nucleus has 25 protons and 30 neutrons.
The atomic number (Z) of an element is, by definition, the number of protons in the nucleus - so Z = 25 means the nucleus contains 25 protons. The mass number (A) is the total count of nucleons (protons + neutrons): A = Z + n, so 55 = 25 + n, giving n = 55 - 25 = 30. So the nucleus contains 25 protons and 30 neutrons. Options (b) and (d) wrongly assume all …
- CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Write the Atomic number of Copper.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Copper's atomic number is 29.
Atomic number (Z) equals the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which also equals the number of electrons in a neutral atom. Copper (Cu), a Group 11 transition metal, has 29 protons and 29 electrons, giving it the electronic configuration [Ar] 3d10 4s1 (an exception …
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