If methane (CH₄₎ were to be made of isotopes C and H which are most abundant in nature, how many neutrons would be present in a single CH₄molecule?

Open in App

Solution

Isotopes are atoms of same chemical element with different mass numbers.
Isotopes of carbon are, ${}_{6}^{12}C$ , ${}_{6}^{13}C$ and ${}_{6}^{14}C$ .
The most abundant isotope is ${}_{6}^{12}C$ , which has 6 protons and 6 neutrons.
Isotopes of hydrogen are ${}_{1}^{1}H$ , ${}_{1}^{2}H$ and ${}_{1}^{3}H$ .
The most abundant isotope is ${}_{1}^{1}H$ , which has 1 proton and 0 neutrons.
Thus a methane (CH₄₎molecule will contain only 6 neutrons.

Suggest Corrections

Similar questions

What type of bonds are present in methane $(C H_{4})$ and sodium chloride $(N a C l)$

(C H_{4})

H_{2}, O_{2}

V

27^{o} C

H_{2} : O_{2} : C H_{4}

Join BYJU'S Learning Program