Skip to content
Question of 41

Q.Name the isotopes of hydrogen. What is the ratio of the masses of these isotopes?

Telangana TsbieTelangana Board of Intermediate Education (Intermediate 1st Year) 2022Subjective· 4mImportance★★★★★
0% · 0/41 Questions
🔒 Locked · start free trial →

You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.

Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →

Hydrogen's three isotopes — protium, deuterium and tritium — differ only in the number of neutrons in the nucleus, giving them a mass ratio of roughly 1:2:3.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same number of protons/atomic number) that differ in the number of neutrons, and hence in mass number. Hydrogen (Z = 1) has three well-known isotopes:

  1. Protium (¹₁H): the most common form (~99.985% natural abundance); nucleus has 1 proton and 0 neutrons; mass number = 1.
  2. Deuterium (²₁H, also written D): nucleus has 1 proton and 1 neutron; mass number = 2; natural abundance ~0.015%. Also called "heavy hydrogen"; heavy water is D₂O.
  3. Tritium (³₁H, also written T): nucleus has 1 proton and 2 neutrons; mass number = 3; it is radioactive (β-emitter) and occurs only in trace amounts, being continuously produced in the upper atmosphere by cosmic-ray reactions. …

Unlock everything free for 14 days

  • Full step-by-step solutions
  • Concept-first explanations
  • Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
  • PYQ mapping + timed mock tests

Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.