Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons.

Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation of the atom as a particular element. Five examples of isotopes and their corresponding uses are: 1) Iodine-131 is use in the diagnosis of thyroid problems 2) Cobalt-60 is used in industrial radiography and medical radiotherapy 3) Carbon-14 is used in the process of dating rocks 4) Uranium-235 is used in the production of nuclear energy in nuclear power plant by nuclear fission. 5)An isotope of hydrogen, deuterium or Hydrogen-2 is used to make heavy water D2O, i.e deuterium oxide which acts as a moderator(it absorbs extra neutrons during fission reactions) in the nuclear power plants. What is an ion? An ion is a charged atom or molecule. It is charged because the number of electrons do not equal the number of protons in the atom or molecule. An atom can acquire a positive charge or a negative charge depending on whether the number of electrons in an atom is greater or less then the number of protons in the atom. When an atom is attracted to another atom because it has an unequal number of electrons and protons, the atom is called an ION. If the atom has more electrons than protons, it is a negative ion, or ANION. If it has more protons than electrons,it is a positive ion. Ions

Anions are negatively charged ions. Anions are negatively charged because there are more electrons associated with them than there are protons in their nuclei. Cations are positively charged ions. Cations are the opposite of anions, since cations have fewer electrons than protons. Dianion: a dianion is a species which has two negative charges on it; for example, the aromatic dianion pentalene. Radical ions: radical ions are ions that contain an odd number of electrons and are mostly very reactive and unstable.

Jennylyn F. Rances