What does the symbol of an isotope represent?

The symbol of an isotope represents the element's name, atomic number, and the number of nucleons in its nucleus.

An isotope is a variant of a chemical element that has the same number of protons (atomic number) but a different number of neutrons. This difference in neutron number results in different atomic masses for the isotopes of the same element. The symbol of an isotope is typically written as X-A, where X is the chemical symbol of the element, and A is the atomic mass number (the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus).

For example, the symbol of the isotope Carbon-14 is written as C-14. Here, 'C' is the chemical symbol for Carbon, and '14' is the atomic mass number, indicating that there are 14 nucleons (6 protons and 8 neutrons) in the nucleus of this isotope.

The atomic number, which is the number of protons in an atom, is usually written as a subscript to the left of the element symbol. However, since the number of protons defines the element and its place in the periodic table, it is often omitted from the isotope symbol.

The isotope symbol provides essential information about the specific variant of an element. It allows scientists to distinguish between isotopes of the same element, which can have different physical and chemical properties due to their different atomic masses. For instance, Carbon-12 and Carbon-14 are both isotopes of carbon, but Carbon-14 is radioactive while Carbon-12 is not. This difference is crucial in various scientific fields, including chemistry, physics, geology, and archaeology.