Nitrogen has relatively stable isotopes (half-life greater than 1 second) of mass numbers 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. All except 14N and 15N are radioactive.) Calculate how many protons and neutrons are in each of these isotopes of nitrogen.

Ch.1 - Structure and Bonding

Wade9th EditionOrganic ChemistryISBN: 9780135213728Not the one you use?Change textbook

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Wade 9th Edition

Ch.1 - Structure and Bonding

Problem 1a

Chapter 1, Problem 1a

Nitrogen has relatively stable isotopes (half-life greater than 1 second) of mass numbers 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. All except ¹⁴N and ¹⁵N are radioactive.) Calculate how many protons and neutrons are in each of these isotopes of nitrogen.

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Identify the atomic number of nitrogen, which is 7. This number represents the number of protons in any nitrogen atom.

For each isotope, the mass number is given. The mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom.

To find the number of neutrons in each isotope, subtract the atomic number (number of protons) from the mass number. Use the formula: \( \text{Number of neutrons} = \text{Mass number} - \text{Atomic number} \).

Apply this formula to each isotope: For mass number 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, calculate the number of neutrons by subtracting 7 from each mass number.

Summarize the results for each isotope, listing the number of protons (always 7 for nitrogen) and the calculated number of neutrons.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Atomic Number

The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of that element. For nitrogen, the atomic number is 7, meaning every nitrogen atom has 7 protons. This number is crucial for identifying the element and remains constant across all isotopes of nitrogen.

Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. This results in different mass numbers. For nitrogen, isotopes with mass numbers 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 have the same 7 protons but vary in the number of neutrons.

Mass Number

The mass number of an isotope is the total number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. To find the number of neutrons in an isotope, subtract the atomic number from the mass number. For example, nitrogen-15 has 15 - 7 = 8 neutrons. This calculation is essential for determining the composition of each isotope.

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Related Practice

Textbook Question

For each of the following compounds,1. Give the hybridization and approximate bond angles around each atom except hydrogen.2. Draw a three-dimensional diagram, including any lone pairs of electrons.d. (CH3)3N e. [CH3NH3]+f. CH3COOH

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Textbook Question

Use your molecular models to make ethane, and compare the model with the preceding structures.

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