Consider an atom of ¹⁰B. (b) What is the symbol of the atom obtained by adding one proton to ¹⁰B?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the problem. The problem is asking for the symbol of the atom obtained by adding one proton to an atom of ¹⁰B. The atomic number of an atom is determined by the number of protons in its nucleus. For boron (B), the atomic number is 5, which means it has 5 protons.
2. Step 2: Add one proton to the atom. When you add one proton to an atom of boron, the atomic number increases by one. This means the atomic number of the new atom is 6.
3. Step 3: Identify the atom with the atomic number 6. Using the periodic table, you can find that the element with atomic number 6 is carbon (C).
4. Step 4: Write the symbol for the new atom. The symbol for an atom includes the atomic number (number of protons), the chemical symbol, and the mass number (number of protons + number of neutrons). In this case, the atomic number is 6, the chemical symbol is C, and the mass number is still 10 (since we haven't added or removed any neutrons).
5. Step 5: The symbol for the atom obtained by adding one proton to ¹⁰B is ¹⁰C.

Key Concepts

Atomic Structure

Atoms consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The number of protons in the nucleus defines the atomic number, which determines the element's identity. For example, boron (B) has an atomic number of 5, meaning it has 5 protons.

Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. The notation, such as 10B, indicates the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. In this case, 10B has 5 protons and 5 neutrons.

Nuclear Reactions

Adding a proton to an atom results in a nuclear reaction that changes the element into a different one. For instance, adding one proton to 10B (which has 5 protons) transforms it into 11C (carbon), which has 6 protons. This process illustrates how elements can change identity through nuclear interactions.