12

C
6

13
C
6

14
C
6

Three isotopes of Carbon are shown above. How are these isotopes alike?

A.
They have the same number of protons and the same mass number.
B.
They have the same number of neutrons and the same mass number.
C.
They have the same number of neutrons and the same atomic number.
D.
They have the same number of protons and the same atomic number.

1 answer

The isotopes of Carbon shown above have the same number of protons, which is 6 (as indicated by the atomic number), but different mass numbers due to varying numbers of neutrons.

Here's a breakdown of the options:

A. They have the same number of protons and the same mass number. (False - they have different mass numbers.) B. They have the same number of neutrons and the same mass number. (False - they have different numbers of neutrons and mass numbers.) C. They have the same number of neutrons and the same atomic number. (False - they have the same atomic number but different numbers of neutrons.) D. They have the same number of protons and the same atomic number. (True - all isotopes of Carbon have 6 protons and an atomic number of 6.)

The correct answer is D. They have the same number of protons and the same atomic number.