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Isotopes

Each element of the periodic table may come in several different variations; some of them naturally occurring. Isotopes are variations of the same element that have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons in their nucleus. For the first 10 elements of the periodic table the graph below demonstrates the existing isotopes. You can also see this in table format.

An expanded periodic table of the first 10 elements that shows isotopes. Columns represent the atomic number or proton number, Z, beginning at 0. Column 1 for hydrogen, H, column 2 for helium, H E, column 3 for lithium, L I. Rows represent the neutron number, n, beginning at 0. Each column contains one element with a range of different blue superscript mass numbers. Lithium is in column 3. There is no lithium isotope in row 0. In row 1, L i has superscript 4. In row 2, L i has superscript 5. In row 3, superscript 6 and so on until row 9. The stable isotopes of Lithium and other elements are highlighted in dark gray. The two stable isotopes of Lithium are lithium-6 with superscript mass number 6 and lithium-7 with superscript mass number 7.

Figure 1. The isotopes for the first 10 elements of the periodic table.