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Ch.2 - Atoms, Molecules, and Ions
All textbooksBrown 14th EditionCh.2 - Atoms, Molecules, and IonsProblem 88a
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Chapter 2, Problem 88a

The natural abundance of 3He is 0.000137%. (a) How many protons, neutrons, and electrons are in an atom of 3He?

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Atomic Structure

An atom consists of three main subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons are positively charged and reside in the nucleus, while neutrons are neutral particles also found in the nucleus. Electrons are negatively charged and orbit the nucleus in electron shells. The number of protons defines the element, while the number of neutrons can vary, leading to different isotopes.
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Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. For example, helium-3 (³He) has two protons and one neutron, distinguishing it from the more common helium-4 (⁴He), which has two neutrons. The natural abundance of isotopes can affect their occurrence and applications in various fields, including nuclear science.
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Elemental Composition

The elemental composition of an atom is determined by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in the nucleus. For helium, the atomic number is 2, indicating it has two protons and, in a neutral atom, two electrons. The number of neutrons can be calculated by subtracting the atomic number from the mass number, which for ³He is 3, resulting in one neutron.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Suppose a scientist repeats the Millikan oil-drop experiment but reports the charges on the drops using an unusual (and imaginary) unit called the warmomb (wa). The scientist obtains the following data for four of the drops: Droplet Calculated Charge (wa) A 3.84⨉10−8 B 4.80⨉10−8 C 2.88⨉10−8 D 8.64⨉10−8 (b) From these data, what is the best choice for the charge of the electron in warmombs?

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Textbook Question

Suppose a scientist repeats the Millikan oil-drop experiment but reports the charges on the drops using an unusual (and imaginary) unit called the warmomb (wa). The scientist obtains the following data for four of the drops: Droplet Calculated Charge (wa) A 3.84⨉10−8 B 4.80⨉10−8 C 2.88⨉10−8 D 8.64⨉10−8 (c) Based on your answer to part (b), how many electrons are there on each of the droplets?

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Textbook Question

Suppose a scientist repeats the Millikan oil-drop experiment but reports the charges on the drops using an unusual (and imaginary) unit called the warmomb (wa). The scientist obtains the following data for four of the drops: Droplet Calculated Charge (wa) A 3.84⨉10−8 B 4.80⨉10−8 C 2.88⨉10−8 D 8.64⨉10−8 (d) What is the conversion factor between warmombs and coulombs?

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Textbook Question

The natural abundance of 3He is 0.000137%. (b) Based on the sum of the masses of their subatomic particles, which is expected to be more massive, an atom of 3He or an atom of 3H (which is also called tritium)?

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Textbook Question

The natural abundance of 3He is 0.000137%. (c) Based on your answer to part (b), what would need to be the precision of a mass spectrometer that is able to differentiate between peaks that are due to 3He+ and 3H+?

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Textbook Question

A cube of gold that is 1.00 cm on a side has a mass of 19.3 g. A single gold atom has a mass of 197.0 u. (a) How many gold atoms are in the cube?

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