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Difficulty: EasySubatomic Particles, Atomic Number, Mass Number, and Isotopy

Atoms of the same chemical element that possess the same atomic number but differ in their mass number are known as which of the following?

  1. IsotopesAnswer
  2. B
    Allotropes
  3. C
    Isomers
  4. D
    Isobars

Answer

Atoms of the same element with identical atomic numbers but different mass numbers are called isotopes.
Isotopes are species of the same chemical element (having the same number of protons and atomic number ZZ) that contain different numbers of neutrons, resulting in different mass numbers AA.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define atomic number and mass number relations in atoms of the same element
The atomic number represents the number of protons, which determines the element's identity. The mass number is the total count of protons and neutrons.
Understanding subatomic composition is essential to identifying relationship terminology.
2
Identify the relationship where atomic number remains fixed while mass number varies
Variation in mass number among atoms of the same element occurs due to a differing number of neutrons in their nuclei.
Differing neutron counts in identical chemical elements define isotopy.

Key Concept

Subatomic Particles and Isotopy
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Subatomic Particles, Atomic Number, Mass Number, and Isotopy

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