IB Chemistry - Atomic Structure I

In IB chemistry, atoms contain protons, neutrons and electrons

• The Mass Number (larger number) contains the number of protons and neutrons
• While the Atomic Number (smaller number) contains the number of protons only
  • Subtract the atomic from mass number to get the number of neutrons

Isotopes are different atoms of the same element with different mass numbers (different number of neutrons)

• Isotopes have the same chemical properties (react in the same way) as they have the same number of electrons
• But they have different physical properties (melting and boiling points) as they have different masses and move at different speeds in IB Chemistry

In IB Chemistry, radioisotopes are radioactive isotopes of an element

• ¹⁴ C used in radiocarbon dating to date fossils
• ⁶⁰ Co used in radiotherapy to destroy cancerous cells with gamma rays
• ¹³¹ I and ¹²⁵ I used as a medical tracer to generate pictures of the activity of the thyroid gland

End of this topic!

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Drafted by Gina (Chemistry)