Question

How many neutrons does the following nuclide have? 253/100 Fm A. 253 B. 100 C. 153 D. none of these

Answer 1

Answer : The correct option is, (C) 153

Explanation :

Atomic number is defined as the number of protons or number of electrons.

Atomic number = number of protons = number of electrons

Mass number is defined as the sum of number of protons and number of neutrons.

Number of neutrons = Mass number - Number of protons

or,

Number of neutrons = Mass number - Atomic number

As we are given that:

The given nuclide is,
`^(253)_(100)Fm`

'Fm' is the fermium element.

Mass number of 'Fm' = 253

Atomic number f 'Fm' = 100

Now we have to determine the number of neutrons.

Number of neutrons = Mass number - Atomic number

Number of neutrons = 253 - 100

Number of neutrons = 153

Therefore, the number of neutrons in the 'Fm' nuclide have 153.

Answer 2

I believe the correct answer is C. The number of neutrons in the 253/100 Fm would be 153. The numbers beside Fm are used to determine this. Two hundred fifty three represents the mass number which is the sum of protons and neutrons in the nuclide while 100 represents the atomic number which is the number of protons. Therefore,

253 = neutrons + 100
neutrons = 153