What is an Isotope

An isotope is where each of two or more forms of the same element that contain
equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, and
hence differ in relative atomic mass but not in chemical properties; in particular,
a radioactive form of an element. “some elements have only one stable isotope"

There are two main types of isotopes, and these are radioactive isotopes and stable
isotopes. Stable isotopes have a stable combination of protons and neutrons, so
they have stable nuclei and do not undergo decay. These isotopes do not pose
dangerous effects to living things, like radioactive isotopes.

They are typically useful when performing experiments in the environment and in
the field of geochemistry. These isotopes can help determine the chemical
composition and age of minerals and other geologic objects. Some examples of
stable isotopes are isotopes of carbon, potassium, calcium and vanadium.

Radioactive isotopes have an unstable combination of protons and neutrons, so

they have unstable nuclei. Because these isotopes are unstable, they can cause
harm to human lives.

What are three examples of Isotopes

Carbon
By far the most common isotope of carbon is carbon-12 (12C), which
contains six neutrons in addition to its six protons. The next heaviest carbon
isotope, carbon-13 (13C), has seven neutrons. Both 12C and 13C are called stable
isotopes since they do not decay into other forms or elements over time.
 Looking at the percentages below each carbon isotope, we
see that almost 98.9% of the carbon that is found is in the form of carbon-12. The
least abundant form of carbon is carbon-14, with an abundance of less than
0.0001%. If we calculate the number of neutrons for each carbon isotope, we can
see that they differ from each other. For carbon-12, we have 6 neutrons; for
carbon-13, we have 7 neutrons; and for carbon-14, we have 8 neutrons.

You may notice if we look at the atomic masses of elements in the periodic table
that they are rarely ever whole numbers, just like for carbon where the atomic mass
is 12.011. This is because the atomic mass of carbon is based on the average
atomic masses of its isotopes and the abundance of each isotope.

Chlorine

Chlorine-37, or 37Cl, is one of the stable isotopes of chlorine, the other being
chlorine-35 (35Cl). Its nucleus contains 17 protons and 20 neutrons for a total of
37 nucleons
 Hydrogen
There are three isotopes of the element hydrogen: hydrogen, deuterium, and
tritium. How do we distinguish between them? They each have one single
protonbut differ in the number of their neutrons. Hydrogen has no neutron,
deuterium has one, and tritium has two neutrons.
 5 Isotopes Used in Medicine
Technetium-99m (6 h): Used in to image the skeleton and heart muscle in
particular, but also for brain, thyroid, lungs (perfusion and ventilation), liver,
spleen, kidney (structure and filtration rate), gall bladder, bone marrow, salivary
and lacrimal glands, heart blood pool, infection and numerous specialised medical
studies.

Copper-64 (13 h): Used to study genetic diseases affecting copper metabolism,
such as Wilson's and Menke's diseases.
Iodine-125 (60 d): Used in cancer brachytherapy (prostate and brain), also
diagnostically to evaluate the filtration rate of kidneys and to diagnose deep vein
thrombosis in the leg. It is also widely used in radioimmuno- assays to show the
presence of hormones in tiny quantities. Iodine-131 (8 d): Widely used in treating
thyroid cancer and in imaging the thyroid; also in diagnosis of abnormal liver
function, renal (kidney) blood flow and urinary tract obstruction. A strong gamma
emitter, but used for beta therapy.

Iridium-192 (74 d): Supplied in wire form for use as an internal radiotherapy
source for cancer treatment (used then removed).

Lutetium-177 (6.7 d): Lu-177 is increasingly important as it emits just enough

gamma for imaging while the beta radiation does the therapy on small (eg
endocrine) tumours. Its half-life is long enough to allow sophisticated preparation
for use.

Reference

http://www.radiochemistry.org/nuclearmedicine/radioisotopes/ex_iso_medicine.ht
m

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_hydrogen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_chlorine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_carbon

Table of Content
Pg1 What is an Isotope

Pg1 What are three examples of Isotopes

Pg2 5 Isotopes Used in Medicine

Pg3 Reference

Name: Shyheme Pierre

Due date:2/19/16
Teacher: Ms. Sagram

Subject: Isotopes