Question

The atoms of various isotopes of a particular element differ from each other in the number of:
A.Electrons in the outer shell only
B.Protons in the nucleus
C.Electrons in the inner shell only
D.Neutrons in the nucleus

Answer 1

Isotopes can be defined as elements having the same atomic number but different mass number.The atoms of the same element may differ in the number of neutrons.

Complete step by step answer:
It can be defined as the element which has the same number of protons but differs in neutron number. The atoms of the same element may differ in the number of neutrons but have the same number of electrons. Neutrons are found in the nucleus of the elements and can differ in different isotopes of the same element.
For example: ${12_6}C,{13_6}C,{14_6}C$ , where 6 which is common among all is atomic number of the element and atomic number is proton number so number of protons is equal and is 6 whereas 12,13 and 14 are mass number which are different and is sum of protons and neutrons. That results in a different neutron number as the proton number is the same.
So, considering the Isotope of C, which has 6 electrons because the atomic number is 6.
${12_6}C$ has 6 neutrons (12 - 6 = 6)
${13_6}C$ has 7 neutrons (13 - 6 = 7)
${14_6}C$ has 8 neutrons (14 - 6 = 8)
So, the atoms of various isotopes of a particular element differ from each other in the number of neutrons in the nucleus.

Therefore, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: Isotopes of an element differ in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. So, the difference in the number of neutrons from various isotopes varies where the number of electrons are unchanged.