Isotopes

What are isotopes?

• They are atoms of the same element with same number of protons and electrons but different number of neutrons.

Isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties as the atoms of the same element.

• Chemical reactions involve only the electrons and not the neutrons.
• Isotopes have the same number of electrons as their atoms, hence they have the same chemical properties.

Isotopes of an element have different physical properties compared to the atoms of the same element.

• Isotopes have different masses (due to the different number of neutrons) and as their physical properties are affected by mass, they will have different physical properties.

Uses of Isotopes

Area of use	Isotope	Function
Archaeology	Carbon	Estimating the ages of things containing carbon
Geology	Uranium	Estimating the ages of rocks
Safety and Security	Americium	Used in smoke detectors
Safety and Security	Californium	Detection of explosives