Answer to Question #146788 in General Chemistry for qwerty

Question

1. Which isotope in each of the following pairs should be more stable?
a) 40/20Ca or 45/20Ca b) 31/15P or 32/15P c) 20/10Ne or 17/10Ne
2. For each pair of elements listed, predict which one has more stable isotopes.
b) F or Se b) Co or Ni c) Ag or Cd

Answer 1

1. a) 40/20Ca is more stable when compared to 45/20Ca because 40/20 Ca has the same number of protons as neutrons.

b) 31/15P is more stable compared to 32/15P because 31/15P fewer neutrons than 32/15P

c) 20/10Ne is more stable than 17/10Ne because 17/10Ne has 7 neutrons and 10 protons which makes the number of neutrons below the band of stability.

2. a nucleus with an odd number of protons is relatively less stable than those with even number of protons and as such tend to have fewer stable isotopes. Therefore;

a) Se has more stable isotopes than F

b) Ni has more stable isotopes than Co

c) Cd has more stable isotopes than Ag.