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Question
- why do all isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties? _______________
Chemical properties are determined by the electron configuration, specifically the number of valence electrons. Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons (and thus the same atomic number), which means they have the same electron configuration (since electrons are arranged around the nucleus based on proton number). Even though isotopes differ in the number of neutrons (and thus mass number), the number of electrons (and valence electrons) remains the same, so their chemical properties are identical.
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All isotopes of an element have the same number of protons (same atomic number), so they have the same electron configuration (especially the number of valence electrons). Since chemical properties are determined by electron configuration (valence electrons), isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties.