yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Worked example: using the mass number equation | High school chemistry | Khan Academy


less than 1m read
·Nov 10, 2024

Hi everyone. In this video, we're going to practice using the mass number equation. This equation represents the fact that the mass number of an atom is equal to its number of protons plus its number of neutrons.

Let's use the mass number equation to answer the following question: How many neutrons are in an isotope of sodium with the following notation? To answer this question, we'll first need to rearrange our mass number equation to solve for the number of neutrons. Pause the video and take a moment to try this for yourself.

The rearranged equation is as follows: The number of neutrons equals the mass number minus the number of protons. Based on this notation, we know that this sodium isotope has a mass number of 23 and an atomic number of 11. If we subtract the atomic number 11 from the mass number 23, we're left with 12, which is the number of neutrons in this sodium isotope.

Okay, more practice! This time with an isotope of platinum: How many neutrons does this isotope have based on the following notation: PT-195? Again, we'll need to use the rearranged mass number equation to solve for the number of neutrons. This particular notation provides the chemical symbol of platinum and its mass number.

We can look up platinum on the periodic table to find its atomic number, which is 78, meaning that every platinum atom has 78 protons. We can subtract the atomic number 78 from the mass number 195 to get 117. So this isotope of platinum has 117 neutrons.

More Articles

View All
why i don't spend money
These are five ways that I’m able to save a lot of money: Reuse grocery bags as trash bags instead of buying them from Costco. Only do laundry after 9 PM on weekdays when electricity is the cheapest. Skip the bottled water and drink right from the tap. Y…
Does Earth Have a Twin? These People Want to Find Out | Short Film Showcase
[Music] Curiosity and exploration are simply part of our DNA. What’s at the top of that mountain? What’s around that ridge? What’s in that forest? What’s across that body of water? This quest to explore things that we think might be beyond our reach or mi…
Linear equation word problems
When Quinn returned from vacation, he turned the heat back on in his home. He set the temperature as high as it could go. Q represents the temperature in Quinn’s home in degrees Celsius after T minutes. They say Q is equal to 15 plus 0.4T. What was the t…
15 Habits of Highly Organized Individuals
You know, Aluxer, life is like a puzzle full of colors. The pieces are chaotic, have irregular shapes, and are so colorful your brain hurts sometimes when you’re trying to put them all together. You might say it’s impossible to make this puzzle, but some …
One Order of Operations for Starting a Startup by Michael Seibel
One order of operations for starting a startup. More often than not, when I talk to a talented technical person who’s thinking about becoming a Founder, their number one blockers is that they don’t have an idea. At some point during their formative years,…
8 Animal Misconceptions Rundown
8) Let’s talk about Lemmings. When you hear the word “lemmings,” you might think of two things: this video game and some sort of small creature that suicidally leaps off cliffs when its population grows too large. In case you didn’t know, lemmings are rea…