How do I find the number if nucleons in an isotope of calcium?

1 Answer
Paul N.
Oct 28, 2014

There are 24 known isotopes of calcium. About five or six of of the isotopes are stable. Other isotopes decay radioactively with half lives ranging from nanoseconds to years.

Nucleon is the generic name for a particle which makes up part of the nucleus of an atom. These can be either protons or neutrons. Since protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, a first step in identifying an atom is often just to find the total mass of the nucleus.

Calcium appears as element number 20 on the periodic table. This means that it has 20 protons in the nucleus. Isotopes of Calcium differ by the number of neutrons in the nucleus.

Isotopes are noted with a preceding superscript. #""^44Ca# (pronounced "Calcium forty four") is an isotope of calcium with 44 nucleons. 20 of them are protons and the remaining 24 are neutrons.

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