Question: Carbon has a third isotope, named carbon-13. How many protons and neutrons are found in each atom of...

Question

Carbon has a third isotope, named carbon-13. How many protons and neutrons are found in each atom of carbon- ${13}$ . Carbon- ${13}$ is a stable isotope, like carbon- ${12}$ . How useful would carbon- ${13}$ be for radiometric dating?

Answer 1

Solution

Isotope, one of two or more species of atoms of a chemical periodic table and nearly identical chemical behavior but with different atomic masses and physical properties. In isotopes a number of proteins and neutrons are changed and hence different atomic masses. Every chemical element has one or more isotopes.

Complete step by step answer:
All isotopes of the carbon contain $6$ number of protons so carbon- $13$ has 6 protons.
These are the atomic numbers which get changed by changing neutrons. In carbon- $13$ . You will need $7$ neutrons.
For carbon- $13$ $\to$ Protons $=6$
Neutrons $=7$
Atomic no $=13\to \text{protons }+\text{ Neutrons}$
Carbon- $13$ is a stable isotope of carbon.
Stable isotopes are not used in radio-carbon dating, as they remain unchanged. Radio-carbon dating mainly relies on carbon- $14$ and carbon- $12$
Radiocarbon dating uses carbon isotopes. It works by comparing the three different isotopes.
Ratio of carbon- $13$ and carbon- $12$ isotopes in plant tissues is different and this is used to determine which types of plants were consumed by animals.
It is also used to identify the layer in sedimentary rock.
The carbon- $13$ urea breath test is a safe and highly accurate diagnostic tool to detect the presence of helicobacter pylori infection in the stomach.

Note: Carbon compounds are present everywhere i.e. in the food that we eat, the clothes that we wear and even in the lead of pencil.
Carbon is the seventeenth most abundant element found on earth. It is found both free as well as combined state. You can find it available as coal. Graphite in elemental state. While it is present as metal carbonates, hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide gas in the combined state. Carbon has many unique abilities out of all one ability is that carbon forms $p\pi -p\pi$ bonds (double or triple bond).