Table of Contents
What are carbon-12 and carbon-13?
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Carbon occurs naturally in three isotopes: carbon 12, which has 6 neutrons (plus 6 protons equals 12), carbon 13, which has 7 neutrons, and carbon 14, which has 8 neutrons.
What is the difference between carbon and carbon-12?
Explanation: Carbon 12, 13 and 14 are carbon isotopes, meaning that they have additional neutrons: Carbon 12 has exactly 6 protons and 6 neutrons ( hence the 12 ) Carbon 13 has 6 protons and 7 neutrons.
What about the atom changed between carbon-12 and carbon 13?
Carbon-12 and 13 are stable isotopes, which means that the nucleus does not undergo radioactive decay. One of the neutrons in carbon-14 is changed to a proton through the process of beta decay. The proton number increase by one, and consequently, the atomic number is no longer 6, but 7. The new element is nitrogen.
What do carbon-12 and 14 have in common?
Carbon exists in several isotopes. The most common of these is carbon 12, 13, 14. All of these isotopes have the same atomic number but different mass numbers. Carbon has the atomic number of 6 which means that all isotopes have the same proton number.
What is the difference between carbon 12 and carbon 14?
Carbon 12 vs Carbon 14. Atoms of both isotopes of carbon contain 6 protons. Atoms of carbon-12 have 6 neutrons, while atoms of carbon-14 contain 8 neutrons. A neutral atom would have the same number of protons and electrons, so a neutral atom of carbon-12 or carbon-14 would have 6 electrons.
How many electrons are in a carbon 12 atom?
Atoms of both isotopes of carbon contain 6 protons. Atoms of carbon-12 have 6 neutrons, while atoms of carbon-14 contain 8 neutrons. A neutral atom would have the same number of protons and electrons, so a neutral atom of carbon-12 or carbon-14 would have 6 electrons.
What is the atomic mass of carbon 14?
Carbon 14 is a common isotope of carbon. We call it “radiocarbon” since it is a radioactive carbon isotope. The atomic nucleus of this atom contains 6 protons, 6 electrons, and 8 neutrons. Its isotopic mass is 14 u. Moreover, Carbon 14 is very rare, and its abundance is about 1 part per trillion.
What makes carbon 14 an isotope of carbon?
Carbon 14 is a common isotope of carbon. We call it “radiocarbon” since it is a radioactive carbon isotope. The atomic nucleus of this atom contains 6 protons, 6 electrons, and 8 neutrons.