Ions & Isotopes

Question 1

Ions

Answer 1

-when an atom loses electrons, it becomes positively charged (cation)
-when an atom gains electrons, it becomes negatively charged (anion)
-a superscript to the right of the chemical symbol is used to show the charge of an ion

Question 2

Isotopes

Answer 2

-atoms of the same element can sometimes have different numbers of neutrons
-atoms of the same number of protons with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes
-the # of neutrons affects the mass number, but not the atomic number
-some elements have many variations found in nature