Question

For the element nitrogen (N), answer the following questions.

a. Is there one atomic number possible for N, or multiple possibilities? What is/are the atomic number(s) for N? What type(s) of subatomic particle(s) correspond to the atomic number?

b. Is there one mass number possible for N, or multiple possibilities? What is/are some mass number(s) for N? What type(s) of subatomic particle(s) correspond to the mass number? If there are two atoms of an element with different mass numbers, what are they called

c. Is there one atomic mass for N, or multiple possibilities? What is/are the atomic mass(es) for N?How is atomic mass calculated for an element?

Answer 1

a. There is only one atomic number possible for nitrogen (N), which is 7. The atomic number represents the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. The type of subatomic particle corresponding to the atomic number is the proton.

b. There are multiple possibilities for the mass number of nitrogen. The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. Nitrogen can have different isotopes, which are atoms of the same element that have different mass numbers due to having different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. Some common mass numbers for nitrogen include 14 and 15. The type of subatomic particle corresponding to the mass number is the neutron. When two atoms of an element have different mass numbers, they are called isotopes.

c. There are multiple possibilities for the atomic mass of nitrogen. The atomic mass is the weighted average of the masses of all the isotopes of an element, taking into account their relative abundances. The most common isotope of nitrogen is 14N, which has an atomic mass of 14.00674 u (unified atomic mass units). Other isotopes of nitrogen include 15N, which has an atomic mass of 15.00011 u. The atomic mass of an element is calculated by summing the masses of all of its isotopes and weighting them according to their relative abundances.