​What is an isotope?

• Versions of the same element, with a differing number of neutrons

  • The number of neutrons can vary

• They will share the same chemical properties, but will differ in mass

​Carbon Isotopes

• Carbon-12

  • most abundant (98.93%)

  • living things

• Carbon-13

  • 1.1%

  • used in medical biological testing

  • detects h. pylori on the breath, and can test water to determine where it was sourced

• Carbon-14

  • not naturally occurring

  • used in radiocarbon dating

​Up next

Radioactivity

Radioisotopes

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