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IB Chemistry SL 1.2 The Nuclear Atom Questions

Practise IB Chemistry SL 1.2 with evidence-led questions on atomic structure, isotopes, nuclei and mass spectrometry.

Syllabus
First assessment 2025
Course
Chemistry SL
Level
SL

Exam points

  • Use nuclear symbols to determine proton, neutron and electron counts for atoms and ions.
  • Distinguish isotopes and interpret abundance or relative-mass data from nuclear notation.

Covered syllabus points

1.2.1—Atomic structure1.2.2—Isotopes

Question 1

[Maximum number: 3]

Titanium is a transition metal.

Question (a)

(a)

Titanium exists as several isotopes. The mass spectrum of a sample of titanium gave the following data:

Table for Question (a) — IB Chemistry SL

Calculate the relative atomic mass of titanium to two decimal places.

[ 2 ]

Question (b)

(b)

State the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the 2248Ti{ }_{22}^{48} \mathrm{Ti} atom.

Protons:

Neutrons:

Electrons:

[ 1 ]

Question 2

[Maximum number: 5]

The element boron has two naturally occurring isotopes, 10 B{ }^{10} \mathrm{~B} and 11 B{ }^{11} \mathrm{~B}.

Question (a)

(a)

Define the term isotopes of an element.

[ 1 ]

Question (b)

(b)

Calculate the percentage abundance of each isotope, given that the relative atomic mass of B is 10.81 .

[ 2 ]

Question (c)

(c)

The percentage abundance of the isotopes of boron can be determined with a mass spectrometer. The diagram shows the operation of a mass spectrometer.

Figure for Question (c) — IB Chemistry SL
[ 2 ]

Question (i)

(i)

Deduce the number of protons, neutrons and the electron arrangement of the main ion of 11 B{ }^{11} \mathrm{~B} formed in stage Q.

Protons:

Neutrons:

Electron arrangement:

[ 2 ]
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