Isotopes and Atomic Mass

Isotopes and Atomic Mass Screenshot
  • Isotopes
  • Atomic Mass
Java Logo Original Sim and Translations

Topics

  • Isotopes
  • Atomic Mass

Description

Are all atoms of an element the same? How can you tell one isotope from another? Use the sim to learn about isotopes and how abundance relates to the average atomic mass of an element.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Define “isotope” using mass number, atomic number, number of protons, neutrons and electrons.
  • Given information about an element, find the mass and name of an isotope.
  • Give evidence to support or dispute: “In nature, the chance of finding one isotope of an element is the same for all isotopes.”
  • Find the average atomic mass of an element given the abundance and mass of its isotopes.
  • Predict how the mass and name of an isotope will change given a change in the number of protons, neutrons or electrons.
  • Predict how the average atomic mass of an element changes given a change in the abundance of its isotopes.
Version 1.1.9

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Isotopes & Atomic Mass-Inquiry Activity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
HW
Demo
Remote
Lab
Chemistry
Earth Science
Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
MC Physics
Using PhET in High School Chemistry- all my activities in pdf A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro
Demo
HW
Lab
Chemistry
Concept Questions for Chemistry using PhET A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
MS
MC Chemistry
Isotopes and Atomic Mass - Clicker Questions A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Yuen-ying Carpenter, Robert Parson, Trish Loeblein UG-Intro MC Chemistry
Isotopes and Atomic Mass - Guided Inquiry Activity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Timothy Herzog UG-Intro Guided Chemistry
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein updated by Diana López MS
HS
Other Earth Science
Biology
Physics
Chemistry
Stable Isotopes barbara buckley HS Lab
Remote
Chemistry
Physics
Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics Jaya Ramchandani HS Other Physics
Isotopes Guided Inquiry Laura Mattick HS Guided Chemistry
Isotopes PhET Activity Brian Moshofsky HS Guided Chemistry
Preguntas de razonamiento para todas las simulaciones HTML5 A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Diana López K-5
UG-Intro
UG-Adv
Grad
MS
HS
HW
Discuss
Mathematics
Physics
Chemistry
Astronomy
SECUNDARIA: Alineación PhET con programas de la SEP México (2011 y 2017) This contribution was designed by PhET. Diana López MS
HS
Other Physics
Biology
Mathematics
Chemistry
PREPARATORIA: Alineación de PhET con programas de la DGB México (2017) This contribution was designed by PhET. Diana López HS
UG-Intro
Other Mathematics
Chemistry
Physics
Isotoopide meedialabori juhend Siim Tõkke HS HW
Lab
Physics

Language Download or Run Tips
Albanian All shqip Run now Izotopet dhe masa atomike
Arabic All العربية Run now المظائر و الكتلة الذرية
Basque All Euskara Run now Isotopoak eta masa atomikoa
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Ізатопы і атамная маса
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Izotopi i atomska masa
Bulgarian All български Run now Изотопи и атомна маса
Catalan All català Run now Isòtops i Massa Atòmica
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 同位素和原子的质量
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass_同位素與原子量
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Izotopi i atomska masa
Czech All čeština Run now Izotopy a relativní atomová hmotnost
Danish All Dansk Run now Isotoper og atommasse
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Isotopen en atoommassa
Estonian All Eesti Run now Isotoobid ja aatommass
Finnish All suomi Run now Isotoopit ja atomimassa
French All français Run now Isotopes et masse atomique
German All Deutsch Run now Isotope und Atommasse
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Ισότοπα και ατομική μάζα
Hebrew All עברית Run now איזוטופים ומסה אטומית
Hindi All हिंदी Run now समस्थानिक और परमाणु भार 
Hungarian All magyar Run now Atomtömeg és izotópok
Irish All Gaeilge Run now Iseatóip agus Mais Adamhach
Italian All italiano Run now Isotopi e massa atomica
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 同位体と原子量
Kannada All Kannada Run now ಸಮಸ್ಥಾನಿಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಪರಮಾಣು ದ್ರವ್ಯರಾಶಿ
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Изотоптар. Салыстырмалы атомдық масса
Korean All 한국어 Run now 동위원소와 원자량
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Izotopi un atommasa
Marathi All मराठी Run now समस्थानिके आणि अणुवस्तुमान
Mongolian All Монгол (Монгол) Run now Изотопууд ба Атомын Масс
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now Isotoper og Atommasse
Oriya All Oriya Run now ଆଇସୋଟୋପ୍‍ ଓ ପାରମାଣବିକ ବସ୍ତୁତ୍ୱ
Pashto All Pushto Run now ایزوتوپونه او اټومي کتله
Persian All فارسی Run now ایزوتوپ ها و جرم اتمی
Polish All polski Run now Izotopy i masa atomowa
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Isótopos e Massa Atômica
Russian All русский Run now Изотопы. Относительная атомная масса
Serbian All Српски Run now Изотопи и атомска маса
Sinhalese All Sinhalese Run now සමස්ථානික සහ පරමාණුක ස්කන්ධය
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Izotopy a atómová hmotnosť
Spanish All español Run now Isotopos y Masa Atómica Download teacher tips PDF
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Isotopos y Masa Atómica Download teacher tips PDF
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Isótopos y Masa Atómica
Spanish (Spain) All español (España) Run now Isótopos y masa atómica
Swedish All svenska Run now Isotoper och atommassa
Tamil All Tamil Run now ஓரிடமூலகங்களும் அணுத்திணிவும்
Tibetan All Tibetan Run now གནས་མཉམ་ཁམས་རྫས་དང་གདོས་ཚད།
Ukrainian All українська Run now Ізотопи і атомні маси Download teacher tips PDF
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Đồng vị và nguyên tử khối

HTML5 sims can run on iPads and Chromebooks, as well as PC, Mac, and Linux systems.

iPad:
iOS 12+ Safari
iPad compatible sims

Android:
Not officially supported. If you are using the HTML5 sims on Android, we recommend using the latest version of Google Chrome.

Chromebook:
Latest version of Google Chrome
The HTML5 and Flash PhET sims are supported on all Chromebooks.
Chromebook compatible sims

Windows Systems:
Microsoft Edge, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Google Chrome.

Macintosh Systems:
macOS 10.9.5+, Safari 9+, latest version of Chrome.

Linux Systems:
Not officially supported. Please contact phethelp@colorado.edu with troubleshooting issues.

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Amy Hanson (lead designer - HTML5)
  • Kelly Lancaster (lead designer - Java)
  • John Blanco (developer)
  • Jesse Greenberg (developer)
  • Aadish Gupta (developer)
  • James Smith (developer)
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Emily Moore
  • Robert Parson
  • Ariel Paul
  • Kathy Perkins
  • almond-0.2.9.js
  • base64-js-1.2.0.js
  • FileSaver-b8054a2.js
  • font-awesome-4.5.0
  • game-up-camera-1.0.0.js
  • he-1.1.1.js
  • himalaya-0.2.7.js
  • jama-1.0.2
  • jquery-2.1.0.js
  • lodash-4.17.4.js
  • pegjs-0.7.0.js
  • seedrandom-2.4.2.js
  • text-2.0.12.js
  • TextEncoderLite-3c9f6f0.js
  • Jack Barbara
  • Suzanne Brahmia
  • Sue Doubler
  • Loretta Jones