Chapter 2, Problem 1VCQ

Figure 2.3 How many neutrons do carbon-12 and carbon-13 have, respectively?

Summary Introduction

To write:

Number of neutrons in carbon-12 and carbon-13 respectively.

Introduction:

An atom consists of subatomic particles which are electrons, protons and neutrons. Every element in the periodic table has a different mass number and atomic number and based on that they have different number of subatomic particles. An atom consists of a nucleus which is composed of protons and neutrons. Neutrons as the name define; they are neutral in nature which means they don’t possess any electrical charge.

Explanation of Solution

The number of protons and neutrons in an atom of an element is called as its mass number and number of protons in an element is called as its atomic number. To calculate the number of neutrons, we need to subtract no of protons from the mass number.

  $\text{Number of neutrons in Carbon-12 = Mass number - No}\text{. of proton}$.

  $\begin{array}{l}\text{Number of neutrons in Carbon-12 = 12 - 6}\\ \text{Number of neutrons in Carbon-12 = 6}\end{array}$.

  $\text{Number of neutrons in Carbon-13 = Mass number - Atomic number}$.

  $\begin{array}{l}\text{Number of neutrons in Carbon-13 = 13 - 6}\\ \text{Number of neutrons in Carbon-13 = 7}\end{array}$.