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Ch.2 - Atoms & Elements
All textbooksTro 4th EditionCh.2 - Atoms & ElementsProblem 52a
Chapter 2, Problem 52a

Write isotopic symbols in the form AZX for each isotope. a. the copper isotope with 34 neutrons

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insert step 1> Identify the element and its atomic number. Copper (Cu) has an atomic number (Z) of 29.
insert step 2> Determine the number of protons in the copper isotope. Since the atomic number is 29, the number of protons is also 29.
insert step 3> Use the given number of neutrons to find the mass number (A). The mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons: A = 29 (protons) + 34 (neutrons).
insert step 4> Write the isotopic symbol in the form AZX, where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number, and X is the chemical symbol for the element.
insert step 5> Combine the information to write the isotopic symbol for the copper isotope with 34 neutrons.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. This difference in neutron count results in varying atomic masses for the isotopes of the same element. For example, copper has several isotopes, including those with different neutron counts, which can affect their stability and abundance.
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Isotopic Notation

Isotopic notation is a way to represent isotopes using the format AZX, where 'A' is the mass number (total number of protons and neutrons), 'Z' is the atomic number (number of protons), and 'X' is the chemical symbol of the element. For instance, in the case of copper with 34 neutrons, the mass number would be the sum of the protons (29 for copper) and neutrons (34), resulting in a mass number of 63.
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Copper's Atomic Structure

Copper (Cu) has an atomic number of 29, meaning it has 29 protons in its nucleus. To find the isotopic symbol for the copper isotope with 34 neutrons, one must first calculate the mass number by adding the number of protons and neutrons together. Thus, the mass number for this isotope would be 63, leading to the isotopic symbol being written as 63Cu.
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