Lithium has 3 protons. how many neutrons are in the isotope lithium-8?

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lithium has 3 protons. how many neutrons are in the isotope lithium-8?

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Questionmatic said lithium has 3 protons. how many neutrons are in the isotope lithium-8?

Answer: To determine the number of neutrons in the isotope lithium-8, we need to understand the basic structure of an atom, particularly isotopes.

Atomic Structure and Isotopes:

  1. Protons: The number of protons in an atom defines the element. For lithium, the atomic number is 3, meaning it has 3 protons.
  2. Neutrons: Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
  3. Mass Number: The mass number of an isotope is the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus.

Steps to Calculate Neutrons in Lithium-8:

  1. Identify the number of protons: Lithium has 3 protons.
  2. Identify the mass number of the isotope: The mass number of lithium-8 is 8.
  3. Calculate the number of neutrons: Subtract the number of protons from the mass number.

The formula to find the number of neutrons is:

\text{Number of neutrons} = \text{Mass number} - \text{Number of protons}

For lithium-8:

\text{Number of neutrons} = 8 - 3 = 5

Therefore, the isotope lithium-8 has 5 neutrons.