Question

What are the isotopes of carbon ? Give their symbols.

Answer 1

Isotopes:

The atoms of the same element having the same atomic number but different mass numbers are known as isotopes. i.e. same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Isotopes of Carbon $\mathbf{\left(}\mathbf{C}\mathbf{\right)}$:

Carbon has three isotopes: $\mathrm{C}-12$, $\mathrm{C}-13$ and $\mathrm{C}-14$.

$\mathrm{C}-12$:

1. It has $6$ protons and $6$ neutrons.
2. Thus, the atomic number is $6$ and the mass number is $12$.
3. Thus, $\mathrm{C}-12$ isotope of Carbon is represented as ${}_6{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$.

$\mathrm{C}-13$:

1. It has $6$ protons and $7$ neutrons.
2. Thus, the atomic number is $6$ and the mass number is $13$.
3. Thus, $\mathrm{C}-13$ isotope of Carbon is represented as ${}_6{}^{13}\mathrm{C}$.

$\mathrm{C}-14$:

1. It has $6$ protons and $8$ neutrons.
2. Thus, the atomic number is $6$ and the mass number is $14$.
3. Thus, $\mathrm{C}-14$ isotope of Carbon is represented as ${}_6{}^{14}\mathrm{C}$.