Final answer:
a) Electrons; Neutrons. Ions are formed when atoms lose or gain electrons, while isotopes of an element differ in the number of neutrons they have. The correct answer to your question is a) Electrons; Neutrons.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ions are formed when the number of electrons change. Therefore, the correct answer to the first part of your question is 'electrons.' Atoms can indeed have multiple isotopes,
which differ by having different amounts of neutrons. Thus, isotopes differ by having different numbers of neutrons.
The change in the number of protons would actually create a different element, not an ion or an isotope. The number of electrons determines the charged state of an atom (ion), while the number of neutrons affects the atomic mass but does not change the chemical properties of the element (isotope).
So, the complete answer to your question is: a) Electrons; Neutrons.
Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. Isotopes have different amounts of neutrons.
For example, carbon has three isotopes: carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. Carbon-12 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, while carbon-13 has 6 protons and 7 neutrons, and carbon-14 has 6 protons and 8 neutrons.