Question

Consider two isotopes Fe-54 and Fe-56. (a) Write the nuclear symbol for both isotopes. (b) How do they differ from each other?

Short answer

Answer: Fe-54 and Fe-56 are both isotopes of iron with the same number of protons (26) but differ in the number of neutrons. Fe-54 has 28 neutrons, while Fe-56 has 30 neutrons.

Step-by-step solution

Write the nuclear symbols for both isotopes

To write the nuclear symbols for the isotopes, we need to use the following format: \(^{A}X-Z\). \(A\) represents the mass number (the number of protons and neutrons), \(X\) is the chemical symbol for the element, and \(Z\) is the atomic number of the element (the number of protons). In this case, the chemical symbol is Fe. For Fe-54: - Mass number: 54 - Atomic number: 26 (since iron has 26 protons) For Fe-56: - Mass number: 56 - Atomic number: 26 Now we can write the nuclear symbols for both isotopes: Fe-54: \(^{54}Fe-26\) Fe-56: \(^{56}Fe-26\)

Describe the difference between the isotopes

Both isotopes have the same number of protons (Z = 26), which means they are both isotopes of the same element, iron. The difference between the isotopes lies in the number of neutrons, which is found by subtracting the atomic number from the mass number. For Fe-54: Number of neutrons = 54 - 26 = 28 For Fe-56: Number of neutrons = 56 - 26 = 30 Thus, the difference between the two isotopes is the number of neutrons: Fe-54 has 28 neutrons, while Fe-56 has 30 neutrons.