What is the difference between ions and isotopes?
Final answer: Ions are atoms that have lost or gained electrons, resulting in a net charge, while isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, affecting their mass number but not their chemical properties. Therefore, the correct option is b. Ions represent atoms that have a change in electron number while isotopes represent atoms that have a change in neutron number.
Explanation:
The correct answer to the question of how ions and isotopes differ is option b: Ions represent atoms that have a change in electron number while isotopes represent atoms that have a change in neutron number. An ion is an atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons, which results in a net charge. Ions can be either positively charged (cations) if they lose electrons, or negatively charged (anions) if they gain electrons. In contrast, isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons (and thus the same atomic number) but different numbers of neutrons. This results in different mass numbers (A), although isotopes of an element share chemical properties since the number of electrons which determines chemical behavior remains unchanged.
For example, the element hydrogen has three isotopes: protium, which has no neutrons; deuterium, which has one neutron; and tritium, which has two neutrons. However, in each of these isotopes, the number of protons is one, making them all isotopes of hydrogen. On the nuclear scale, certain isotopes can exhibit different properties, such as stability or radioactivity, which is distinct from the concept of ionization where the number of electrons varies.