Ions and Isotopes - Their Importance to Chemistry

When it comes to the atomic structure, there can be no two elements as important as ions and isotopes. Why is this so? Well, to get to the heart of that question, one has to first distinguish the difference between the two.

WHAT IS AN ION

An ion is a positively or negatively charged particle and can also be an atom or molecule that has lost or gained one or more electrons. An ion itself primarily consists of protons, neutrons and electrons. The composition of these particles can describe the type of atom that has been created. For example, an atom with an equal number of protons and neutrons is considered neutral, whereas an atom that has more protons than electrons is considered a positively charged atom. On the other hand, atoms filled with more electrons are considered negatively charged.

WHAT IS AN ISOTOPE

An isotope is similar to an ion with one fundamental difference. While both ions and isotopes have a specific number of protons and electrons, an isotopic atom is specific to a particular element, like say, hydrogen. The number of protons and electrons are also often atypical, or not normal for a basic atom. This means ions are easily defined by the exact number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. This tells you what kind of element it is.

Isotopes can also be a variation of an element. An example of this would be the difference between hydrogen and deuterium, which is a form of hydrogen. Pure hydrogen is devoid of a neutron while deuterium has two. Both of these elements have isotopic atoms.

IMPORTANCE TO CHEMISTRY

Equations devised by existing ions and isotopes can be significant when devising atomic equations. Knowing how they are created and how they can co-exist can be especially important since some atomic structures could become unstable and even decay if not handled properly.


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