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Chapter 1: Problem 42

For carbon-14 and carbon-12, how many protons and neutrons are in each nucleus? Assuming neutral atoms, how many electrons are present in an atom of carbon-14 and in an atom of carbon- \(12 ?\)

Short Answer

Expert verified
In carbon-14 and carbon-12, each nucleus contains 6 protons since they are isotopes of the same element - carbon. For carbon-14, there are 8 neutrons (\(14 - 6\)), and for carbon-12, there are 6 neutrons (\(12 - 6\)). In neutral atoms of both isotopes, there are 6 electrons, equal to the number of protons.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding atomic structure

An atom is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons (positively charged) and neutrons (no charge) are found in the nucleus, while electrons (negatively charged) orbit around the nucleus. The number of protons determines the element, while the number of neutrons can vary, resulting in different isotopes of the same element.
02

Understanding carbon isotopes

Carbon-14 and carbon-12 are both isotopes of carbon. The number in each name represents the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus (called the mass number).
03

Find the number of protons for carbon

Carbon has an atomic number of 6, which means it has 6 protons. This is the same for all isotopes of carbon, including both carbon-14 and carbon-12.
04

Find the number of neutrons for carbon-14 and carbon-12

To find the number of neutrons for each isotope, we must subtract the number of protons (which is 6) from the mass number of each isotope. For carbon-14: Number of neutrons = mass number - number of protons Number of neutrons = 14 - 6 Number of neutrons = 8 For carbon-12: Number of neutrons = mass number - number of protons Number of neutrons = 12 - 6 Number of neutrons = 6
05

Find the number of electrons in neutral atoms

In a neutral atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons. Since carbon has 6 protons, both carbon-14 and carbon-12 have 6 electrons as they are both neutral atoms. Therefore, for both carbon-14 and carbon-12: - Number of protons: 6 - Carbon-14: Number of neutrons: 8, Number of electrons: 6 - Carbon-12: Number of neutrons: 6, Number of electrons: 6

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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