PhET Isotopes and Atomic Mass

Name ________________________________________________________ Date ____________________

Use the link https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/isotopes-and-atomic-mass to go to the PhET website for

the simulation Isotopes and Atomic Mass.

Begin with the Isotopes and Atomic Mass.

Click on the + symbols next to the bar with Symbol

and Abundance in Nature to display the data.

You can build isotopes of different atoms by clicking on the symbol and adding or
subtracting neutrons using the bowl of neutrons next to the scale. You can also
click on the scale to change to Atomic Mass (amu).

Let's practice with Boron.

1) What are the symbol, atomic mass and abundance in nature of the
isotope Boron - 11?

Now add one neutron to make Boron -12. Notice that the atom shakes. This
indicates that the isotope is unstable. Unstable isotopes undergo radioactive
decay. You will need to note this for other elements in the table below.

18
Symbol
8 O
Name Carbon-13 Beryllium-10

Protons 7 2

Neutrons 6 2 10

Electrons

Atomic Mass 18.99840

Abundance

Stable OR
Unstable
Isotopes and Atomic Mass continued
2) What is an isotope? Compare different isotopes of the same element to answer the question.
An isotope is a type of atom that is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
For example, carbon is a chemical element that has 6 protons in its nucleus. There are three
isotopes of carbon: carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. Carbon-12 has 6 neutrons in its
nucleus, carbon-13 has 7 neutrons, and carbon-14 has 8 neutrons. This means that carbon-12
has an atomic mass of 12, carbon-13 has an atomic mass of 13, and carbon-14 has an atomic
mass of 14.
3) What is the relationship between natural abundance and stability?
The natural abundance of an isotope refers to how common it is in nature,
while stability refers to whether an isotope is stable or radioactive. The
relationship between natural abundance and stability is that stable isotopes
are generally more abundant in nature, while radioactive isotopes are less
abundant.

Go to the bottom of the screen and select the Mixtures tab.

Click on the + symbols to expand the Percent Composition and

Average Atomic Mass data.

You can drag different isotopes of the element to the black screen
and see how the ratios affect the percent composition and Average
Atomic Mass.

When you want to start a new combination of the same element

click on the erase symbol at the bottom left of the black screen. When you want to start with a new element
click on the symbol on the Periodic Table to see the possible isotopes.

Let's start with Hydrogen. Complete the chart for the following combination of hydrogen atoms.

# of H-1 atoms # of H-2 atoms % Comp of H-1 % Comp of H-2 Average Atomic Mass

2 2

5 5

8 2

1) If the average atomic mass of hydrogen in nature is 1.0079, what does that tell you about the percent
composition of H-1 and H-2 in nature?
The average atomic mass of hydrogen in nature is 1.0079,
which is the weighted average of the atomic masses of all
the isotopes of hydrogen found in nature.
Mixtures continued
2) What two things determine the average atomic mass of an element?

There are two things that determine the average atomic

mass of an element: the atomic masses of its isotopes and
their relative abundances.

3) Look at Boron. It has two possible isotopes. Based on the average atomic mass on the Periodic Table
(10.81), which isotope is most abundant in nature? Justify your answer.
Based on the average atomic mass of an element, we can determine which
isotope of that element is most abundant in nature. For example, if the average
atomic mass of an element is 10.81, this tells us that the isotope of that element
with an atomic mass of 10.81 is most abundant in nature. This is because the
average atomic mass is a weighted average of the atomic masses of all the
isotopes of that element, and the isotope with the closest atomic mass to the
average atomic mass is the most abundant isotope.

Go to the Isotope tab and find the percent abundance of Lithium-7. Record that number below.

4) The natural abundance of Lithium-7 is ___________

92.5 %

Now predict how many atoms of Lithium-7 and Lithium-6 are needed to reach the average atomic mass from
the Periodic Table (6.944).

5) For 1 atom of Lithium-6, I will need 7.59

______ atoms of Lithium-7 for an average atomic mass of 6.944.

Switch to the slider button instead of the bowl so that you can select more than 10 atoms to verify your
prediction. Set Lithium-6 to 1. Then move the slider until the average is close to 6.944. Record what the actual
number needed.

6) For 1 atom of Lithium-6, I needed 7.59

______ atoms of Lithium-7 for an average atomic mass of 6.944.

SUPER Challenge
7) Chlorine has two possible isotopes. You must use at least one atom of each isotope. What
combination of the number of atoms and isotopes will come closest to the actual average atomic mass
of 35.45? Show your combination below. What does this mean about the percent abundance of these
isotopes? (Remember, the 2 percent values must add up to 100%)

Cl - 35 ______
75.77 atoms ______ %

Cl - 37 ______
24.23 atoms ______ %