what is the reason for different atomic masses of the isotopes of an element?
Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
Different isotopes of the same element have the same atomic number. They have the same number of protons. The atomic number is decided by the number of protons. Isotopes have different mass numbers, though, because they have different numbers of neutrons.
The word isotope, meaning at the same place, comes from the fact that isotopes are at the same place on the periodic table.
In a neutral atom, the number of electronsequals the number of protons. Isotopes of the same element also have the same number of electrons and the electronic structure. Because how an atom acts is decided by its electronic structure, isotopes are almost the same chemically, but different physically to their original atoms.
example 1H1. protium
1H2. deuterium