Final answer:
The element is carbon, with an atomic number of 6, indicating 6 protons and, for the isotope in question, 6 neutrons, giving it a mass number of 12. Isotopes are forms of an element with varying numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons.
Step-by-step explanation:
The element represented by the symbol C is carbon. The atomic number of carbon is 6, which indicates the number of protons present in the nucleus. This atomic number is unique to carbon and helps to distinguish it from other elements. The mass number of this isotope of carbon is given as 12. To find out the number of neutrons in this isotope, we subtract the atomic number from the mass number, which gives us 12 - 6 = 6 neutrons. Therefore, this carbon isotope has 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and since it is electrically neutral, it also has 6 electrons.
Isotopes are different forms of the same element that vary only in the number of neutrons they possess. For example, in addition to the carbon isotope with 6 neutrons (carbon-12), there is carbon-13 and carbon-14, which have 7 and 8 neutrons respectively. These isotopes have slightly different physical properties but the same chemical properties, as the number of protons and electrons, which define chemical behavior, are the same.