Question

Use the periodic table to answer the question: which is the correct chemical symbol for the sulfur (S) isotope with 15 neutrons?15S 31S 32S 30S 16Si

Answer 1

The correct chemical symbol for the sulfur isotope with 15 neutrons is ^31S, which represents an atomic number of 16 and a mass number of 31.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct chemical symbol for the sulfur (S) isotope with 16 protons and 15 neutrons is ^(31)S. Sulfur's atomic number is 16, representing the number of protons. Adding the 15 neutrons gives us a mass number of 31 (16 protons + 15 neutrons = 31).

Therefore, we denote this isotope with a mass number as a superscript on the left of the chemical symbol for sulfur (S), leading to ^(31)S. This notation accurately represents the specific isotope of sulfur with 16 protons and 15 neutrons.

Answer 2

The same chemical element can be constituted by different atoms, that is to say, their atomic numbers are equal, but the number of neutrons is different. These atoms are called isotopes. An isotope is represented as follows:

On the upper left side is written the mass number, i.e. the sum of protons and neutrons. And in the lower-left side is written the atomic number which refers to the number of protons.

The atomic number can be found in the periodic table, for sulfur (S), the atomic number is 16.

The mass number will be: Neutrons + Protons = 15+16 = 31

So, the sulfur (S) isotope with 15 neutrons will be: 31S

`^(31)_(15)S`