Question

elemental carbon has 6 protons and 6 neutrons. this is often described as carbon - 12. carbon - 13 has 6 protons and 7 neutrons, while carbon - 14 has 6 protons and 8 neutrons. based on the trend with carbon and the fact that plutonium has 94 protons, how many neutrons are in radioactive plutonium - 244?
102 neutrons
108 neutrons
150 neutrons
338 neutrons

Explanation:

Step1: Understand atomic - mass concept

The number after the element name in an isotope (e.g., plutonium - 244) represents the atomic mass, which is the sum of protons and neutrons.

Step2: Set up the equation

Let $n$ be the number of neutrons. We know that atomic mass = number of protons+number of neutrons. For plutonium - 244, the atomic mass is 244 and the number of protons is 94. So, the equation is $244=94 + n$.

Step3: Solve for the number of neutrons

Subtract 94 from both sides of the equation: $n=244 - 94$.
$n = 150$.

Answer:

C. 150 neutrons