Final answer:
Helium-3 (³He) is both an element and an isotope. It is an element because it is a variant of Helium found on the periodic table, and it is an isotope because it differs in the number of neutrons compared to the most common Helium isotope. It is not an ion or a molecule.
Step-by-step explanation:
Is ³He an element, an ion, an isotope, and/or a molecule? ³He, also known as Helium-3, is both an isotope and an element. It is an element because it is a form of Helium, which is listed on the periodic table. ³He is also an isotope because it has a different number of neutrons compared to the most common form of Helium, which is Helium-4 (⁴He). It is not an ion because it has no charge; it has two protons and one neutron, giving it a neutral charge overall. And it is not a molecule because it consists of a single type of atom, whereas a molecule is defined as two or more atoms chemically bonded together.
Atoms that vary in the number of neutrons found in their nuclei are called isotopes. Considering the formula He, it does not represent a molecule since it is a symbol for a single helium atom. Thus, the correct answers are that ³He is an element (Helium) and an isotope (Helium-3).