Composition of the nuclei of two atomic species X and Y are given as under

\(\space \space \space \) X \(\space \space \space \) Y

Protons = 6 \(\space \space \space \) 6

Neutrons = 6 \(\space \space \space \) 8
Give the mass numbers of X and Y. What is the relation between the two species?

Question

Accepted Answer

Answer :

Mass number of X : Protons + neutrons = 6 + 6 = 12

Mass number of Y : Protons + neutrons = 6 + 8 = 14

They are the same element as they have same number of protons which means their atomic numbers are also the same.

Thus they are isotopes as they differ in the number of neutrons and hence they also differ in their mass numbers.

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