Isotopes

Question	Answer
Isotopes	1) atoms of an element with the same proton number but with different nucleon number.
Isotopes of an element have same:	1) chemical properties (determined by v.e.) 2) proton number 3) number of electron 4) valence electron
Isotopes have different physical properties because:	1) different number of neutrons 2) nucleon number 3) rate of diffusion.
Isotopic composition of an element is constant	The percentage abundance of the isotopes of an element is a constant, regardless of the source of the element.
Stability Of Isotopes	1) depends on the neutron to proton ratio. 2) as the proton number increases, the number of neutrons will exceed the number of protons. ( to overcome the repulsive forces between the protons in the small nucleus. 3) isotopes that lie outside the stability belt are unstable : radioisotopes (undergo radioactive decay spontaneously) 4) isotopes with a proton number greater than 83 are unstable. 5) radioisotopes decay and emit alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays.
alpha decay	leads to the formation of an isotope with a decrease in 2unitsbof the proton number and a decrease in four units of the nucleon number.
beta decay	1) forms an isotope with no change in the nucleon number and an increase by one unit of the proton number. 2) the decay will continue until a stable isotope is formed.
EXTRA NOTES	1) The stability of a radioisotope is measured by it's half-life. 2) A neutral atom has an equal number of protons and electrons

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	Created by Yong Cheng Lai almost 8 years ago