Question

Selenium is widely sold as a dietary supplement. It is advertised to "protect" women from breast cancer. Write the nuclear symbol for naturally occurring selenium. It has 34 protons and 46 neutrons.

Short answer

Answer: The nuclear symbol is \({}^{80}\textrm{Se}_{34}\).

Step-by-step solution

Find the chemical symbol

The chemical symbol for selenium is Se. This is usually given in the periodic table or can be easily found in reference materials.

Determine the atomic number and mass number

The atomic number (number of protons) for selenium is 34, which is given in the exercise. The mass number (number of protons plus number of neutrons) can be calculated as follows: Mass number = Number of protons + Number of neutrons Mass number = 34 + 46 Mass number = 80

Write the nuclear symbol

Based on the chemical symbol, atomic number, and mass number, we can now write the nuclear symbol for naturally occurring selenium as: \({}^{80}\textrm{Se}_{34}\) The nuclear symbol for naturally occurring selenium with 34 protons and 46 neutrons is \({}^{80}\textrm{Se}_{34}\).