The mass of the atom, its atomic mass , depends significantly upon both the number of protons and upon the number of neutrons present in the nucleus. Since the properties of the electrons depend upon the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, each different atomic number corresponds to a qualitatively different kind of atom. Each different kind of atom makes up a different chemical element. Isotopes and Atomic Masses For many of the chemical elements there are several known isotopes . Isotopes are atoms with different atomic masses which have the same atomic number.
Chemists sometimes find it necessary to specify the atomic mass of an isotope.
This is done by writing the atomic mass as a superscript preceding the atomic letter symbol. Although the atomic number of an atom is implicit in the element symbol, nuclear physicists and some chemists choose to write the atomic number explicitly in nuclear reactions. The atomic number can be written as a subscript preceding the element symbol, as 92U, but most chemists prefer to omit it. The relative abundances of the different isotopes of an element are constant to a very great degree in natural materials. Man-made isotopes, natural radioactive decay, and isotopic separation processes can, however, produce samples of an element with relative abundances different from those which are normally found.