Chemistry / Unit 12 Chem 2496 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Nuclide Notation
Captions available
The idea
A nuclide is identified by mass number (protons plus neutrons) and atomic number (protons alone); so isotopes, per Chem 0221/0225, share atomic number but differ in mass number.
In practice
Carbon-14 has the same six protons as ordinary carbon-12 but carries two additional neutrons.
Where people slip
Mass number and atomic mass differ; mass number counts nucleons, while atomic mass is the nuclide's measured mass in amu.
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