Science, Tech, Math › Science Example Problem: Isotopes and Nuclear Symbols How to Write the Nuclear Symbol of an Element Print The nuclear symbol for an element, such as oxygen, includes information about the number of protons and neutrons in the atom. Science Picture Co/Getty Images Science Chemistry Basics Chemical Laws Molecules Periodic Table Projects & Experiments Scientific Method Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Medical Chemistry Chemistry In Everyday Life Famous Chemists Activities for Kids Abbreviations & Acronyms Biology Physics Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on September 02, 2018 This worked problem demonstrates how to write nuclear symbols for isotopes of a given element. The nuclear symbol of an isotope indicates the number of protons and neutrons in an atom of the element. It does not indicate the number of electrons. The number of neutrons is not stated. Instead, you have to figure it out based on the number of protons or atomic number. Nuclear Symbol Example: Oxygen Write the nuclear symbols for three isotopes of oxygen in which there are 8, 9, and 10 neutrons, respectively. Solution Use a periodic table to look up the atomic number of oxygen. The atomic number indicates how many protons are in an element. The nuclear symbol indicates the composition of the nucleus. The atomic number ( the number of protons) is a subscript at the lower left of the symbol of the element. The mass number (the sum of protons and neutrons) is a superscript at the upper left of the element symbol. For example, the nuclear symbols of the element hydrogen are: How to Write the Nuclear Symbol of an Atom By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Read More 11H, 21H, 31H Pretend that the superscripts and subscripts line up on top of each other: They should do it this way in your homework problems, even though it's not printed that way in this example. Since it's redundant to specify the number of protons in an element if you know its identity, it's also correct to write: 1H, 2H, 3H Answer The element symbol for oxygen is O and its atomic number is 8. The mass numbers for oxygen must be 8 + 8 = 16; 8 + 9 = 17; 8 + 10 = 18. The nuclear symbols are written this way (again, pretend the superscript and subscript are sitting right on top of each other beside the element symbol):168O, 178O, 188O Or, you could write: 16O, 17O, 18O Nuclear Symbol Shorthand While it's common to write nuclear symbols with the atomic mass—the sum of the number of protons and neutrons—as a superscript and atomic number (the number of protons) as a subscript, there's an easier way to indicate nuclear symbols. Instead, write the element name or symbol, followed by the number of protons plus neutrons. For example, helium-3 or He-3 is the same as writing 3He or 31He, the most common isotope of helium, which has two protons and one neutron. Example nuclear symbols for oxygen would be oxygen-16, oxygen-17, and oxygen-18, which have 8, 9, and 10 neutrons, respectively. Uranium Notation Uranium is an element often described using this shorthand notation. Uranium-235 and uranium-238 are isotopes of uranium. Each uranium atom has 92 atoms (which you can verify using a periodic table), so these isotopes contain 143 and 146 neutrons, respectively. Over 99 percent of natural uranium is the isotope uranium-238, so you can see that the most common isotope isn't always one with equal numbers of protons and neutrons. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Example Problem: Isotopes and Nuclear Symbols." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/isotopes-and-nuclear-symbols-609561. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2020, August 26). Example Problem: Isotopes and Nuclear Symbols. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/isotopes-and-nuclear-symbols-609561 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Example Problem: Isotopes and Nuclear Symbols." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/isotopes-and-nuclear-symbols-609561 (accessed March 28, 2024). copy citation