Question

`""^12C`, `""^13C`, and `""^14C` contain HOW many protons, and how many neutrons?

Answer 1

All carbon isotopes are elemental carbon.

Explanation:

`""^12C`, `""^13C`, and `""^14C` ARE ALL elemental carbon. Because each isotope has `"6 protons"`, `6` positively charged, massive nuclear protons, and different numbers of neutrons. That `Z=6` is what defines the species as `"carbon"`.

Of course, on the Periodic Table, we see a mass of `12.011*g*mol^-1` listed for `C`. This is the weighted average of the individual carbon isotopes. As `Z` increases, the number of possible isotopes tends to increase, and elements with higher `Z` tend to have fractional atomic masses.