Question

Oxygen has an atomic number of 8. Which of the following could form the nucleus of an isotope of oxygen?

Group of answer choices

8 protons and 10 neutrons

4 protons and 4 neutrons

6 protons and 2 neutrons

6 protons and 8 neutrons

Answer 1

two things to remember about isotopes:
- an isotope of an element has the same # of protons as any other atom in the element. (otherwise, if it had different # of protons, it would be a completely different element altogether)
- isotopes can differ in the number of neutrons

with that in mind, try to see which choice would apply to an isotope of oxygen