#""^12C#, #""^13C#, and #""^14C# contain HOW many protons, and how many neutrons?

1 Answer

All carbon isotopes are elemental carbon.

Explanation:

#""^12C#, #""^13C#, and #""^14C# ARE ALL elemental carbon. Because each isotope has #"6 protons"#, #6# positively charged, massive nuclear protons, and different numbers of neutrons. That #Z=6# is what defines the species as #"carbon"#.

Of course, on the Periodic Table, we see a mass of #12.011*g*mol^-1# listed for #C#. This is the weighted average of the individual carbon isotopes. As #Z# increases, the number of possible isotopes tends to increase, and elements with higher #Z# tend to have fractional atomic masses.