Question

There are two predominant isotopes of the element Neon. One

isotope has a mass of 20 atomic mass units, and the other has a mass
of 22 atomic mass units. Based on your knowledge of atomic
structure and the information below, write a paragraph comparing
and contrasting the two isotopes of Neon. Use evidence in your
persuasive paragraph from the data to come to conclusions about
how the two isotopes are similar and how they are different.

Answer 1

Neon has two primary isotopes, Ne-20 and Ne-22. They differ in mass and neutron count but share the same chemical behavior due to identical electron configurations, with Ne-20 being the more abundant isotope in nature.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two predominant isotopes of Neon are Ne-20 and Ne-22. Both isotopes have the same number of protons since they are the same element, giving them an identical atomic number of 10. The difference between them lies in their number of neutrons, with Ne-20 having 10 neutrons and Ne-22 having 12 neutrons. This variation in neutron count results in different mass numbers, namely 20 amu for Neon-20 and 22 amu for Neon-22. Despite these differences in mass and neutron count, both isotopes exhibit similar chemical behavior due to the same electron configuration. In natural samples, Ne-20 is much more abundant, making up 90.92% compared to Ne-22 which comprises about 8.85% of the natural occurrence of Neon.