The nuclear isotope symbols for the four isotopes of sulfur, which have 16, 17, 18, and 20 neutrons respectively, can be written in the format \(\text{A}^{\text{Z}}_{\text{X}}\), where \(A\) is the mass number (number of protons plus neutrons), \(Z\) is the atomic number (number of protons), and \(X\) is the chemical symbol.
Sulfur has an atomic number of 16, meaning it has 16 protons. The mass number (\(A\)) is the sum of protons and neutrons. Here are the symbols for the four isotopes:
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Sulfur-32 (\(16\) protons + \(16\) neutrons): \[ ,^{32}_{16}\text{S} \]
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Sulfur-33 (\(16\) protons + \(17\) neutrons): \[ ,^{33}_{16}\text{S} \]
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Sulfur-34 (\(16\) protons + \(18\) neutrons): \[ ,^{34}_{16}\text{S} \]
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Sulfur-36 (\(16\) protons + \(20\) neutrons): \[ ,^{36}_{16}\text{S} \]
To summarize, the nuclear isotope symbols for the isotopes of sulfur are:
- Sulfur-32: \(,^{32}_{16}\text{S}\)
- Sulfur-33: \(,^{33}_{16}\text{S}\)
- Sulfur-34: \(,^{34}_{16}\text{S}\)
- Sulfur-36: \(,^{36}_{16}\text{S}\)