Question

How do isotopes differ from each other?

Answer 1

Hint: Isotopes are the species of atom of a chemical element with the same atomic number and position in the periodic table. They have nearly similar chemical behaviour. They do have different atomic masses and there is also a difference in their physical properties. Isotopes are made of chemical elements.

Complete step-by-step answer:
When an atom is identified, it is first labelled according to the proton number in it and this is its atomic number which has a symbol $Z$. It is known that atoms with the same atomic number are known to have similar chemical properties. In the periodic table, all elements are arranged with respect to their atomic numbers.

There is a common name for each element for example, calcium, uranium, xenon etc. the mass number is known as the total number of neutrons and protons (symbol\[A\]) of the nucleus.

The main difference in isotopes is the difference in their masses. The difference between the actual measured mass of an isotope and\[A\]is called mass defect. Isotopes are used in fields such as nuclear reactors and sometimes are used in medicinal purposes

Note: Many elements which are seen in nature are a combination of several isotopes and they are also known as Nuclides. There are both stable and unstable isotopes present and some of these occur in nature while some are manufactured synthetically in laboratories. Some elements have only one stable isotope and these are gold, aluminium and sodium.