Isotopes and Atomic Mass

Isotopes and Atomic Mass Screenshot
  • Isotopes
  • Atomic Mass
HTML5 Badge Back to HTML5 Version

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 3.02

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 HS
UG-Intro
Demo
Remote
Lab
HW
Earth Science
Chemistry
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 HS
UG-Intro
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 UG-Intro
HS
Demo
Lab
HW
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
MS
HS
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
Exploring Average Atomic Mass A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Stephanie Davis HS Lab Chemistry
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other Biology
Earth Science
Chemistry
Physics
PhET Sims Aligned to the Chemistry Curriculum This contribution was designed by PhET. Julia Chamberlain HS
UG-Intro
Other Chemistry
Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics Jaya Ramchandani HS Other Physics
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer HS
MS
Other Chemistry
Physics
Biology
Isotopes Corrin Funnell HS Guided Chemistry
Physics
Modeling Relative Atomic Mass Roberto Marrero HS
UG-Intro
HW
Lab
Chemistry
Modeling Isotopes Roberto Marrero HS
MS
Lab
HW
동위원소와 원자량 SIM 사용지침서 이화국(Wha Kuk Lee) MS
HS
Other
Demo
Physics
Chemistry
Isótopos y masa atómica Amaya Garcia-Barahona HS HW
Lab
Guided
Chemistry

Language Download or Run Tips
Albanian All shqip Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass
Amharic All Amharic Run now አይሶቶፖች እና አቶሚክ ብዛት
Arabic All العربية Run now النظائر وعدد الكتلة
Armenian All Armenian Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass
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 ATOMSKE MASE
Bulgarian All български Run now Изотопи и атомна маса
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 同位素原子质量数
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now 同位素與原子量
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Izotopi i Atomska Masa
Czech All čeština Run now Izotopy a atomová hmotnost
Danish All Dansk Run now Isotoper og atomar vægt
Dutch All Nederlands Run now isotopen en atoommassa
Estonian All Eesti Run now Isotoobid ja aatommass
Finnish All suomi Run now Isotoopit ja atomimassat
French All français Run now Isotopes et masses atomiques
Galician All Gallegan Run now Isótopos e Masa atómica
Georgian All ქართული Run now იზოტოპები, ატომური მასა
German All Deutsch Run now Isotope und Atommassen
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Ισότοπα και ατομική μάζα
Hebrew All עברית Run now איזוטופים ומסה אטומית
Hungarian All magyar Run now Izotópok és atomtömeg
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Isotop dan Massa Atom
Italian All italiano Run now Isotopi e Massa Atomica
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 同位体と原子の質量
Kannada All Kannada Run now ಐಸೋಟೋಪು ಮತ್ತು ದ್ರವ್ಯರಾಶಿ
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Изотоптар және атомның массасы
Khmer All Khmer Run now អ៊ីសូតូប និង​ម៉ាស​អាតូម
Korean All 한국어 Run now 동위원소와 원자량
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Izotopi un atommasa
Macedonian All македонски Run now Изотопи и атомски маси
Maori All Maori Run now Kanoirite me te Tau Karihi o te Ngota
Marathi All मराठी Run now समस्थनिके आणि अणू भार
Moldavian All Moldavian Run now Izotopi şi Masa atomica
Mongolian All Монгол (Монгол) Run now Изотоп ба Атомын Масс
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now Isotoper og atommasse
Persian All فارسی Run now ایزوتوپ و جرم اتمی
Polish All polski Run now Izotopy i masa atomowa
Portuguese All português Run now Isótopos e Massa Atómica
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Isótopos e Massa Atômica
Romanian All română Run now Izotopi si masa atomica
Russian All русский Run now Изотопы и атомная масса
Serbian All Српски Run now Изотопи и атомске масе
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Izotopy a relatívna atómová hmotnosť
Slovenian All Slovenščina Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass
Spanish All español Run now Isótopos y Masa atómica
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Isótopos y Masa atómica
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Isótopos y Mása Atómica
Spanish (Spain) All español (España) Run now Isótopos y número másico
Swedish All svenska Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass
Thai All ไทย Run now ไอโซโทป และมวลอะตอม
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Izotoplar we atom sany
Ukrainian All українська Run now Ізотопи і атомні маси
Uzbek All Uzbek Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Đồng vị và nguyên tử khối
Welsh All Welsh Run now Isotopes and Atomic Mass

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7/8.1/10
Latest version of Java
OS X 10.9.5 or later
Latest version of Java
Latest version of Java

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Kelly Lancaster (lead)
  • John Blanco (lead developer)
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Emily Moore
  • Robert Parson
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Piccolo2D
  • Jack Barbara
  • Suzanne Brahmia
  • Sue Doubler
  • Loretta Jones