What makes a carbon atom uniquely carbon?
But what makes the carbon atom different from all other atoms? The number of protons in the nucleus. In the box on the periodic table, the number above the element’s symbol is the number of protons in an atom of that element. Each element has a unique number of protons, or atomic number. For carbon, this number is 6, so there are 6 protons in one atom of carbon. Most carbon atoms have 6 neutrons as well. In order to neutralize the charge of the 6 protons there must be 6 electrons. Therefore, the most common carbon atom has 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons. However, variants of carbon atoms exist. These are called isotopes. Different isotopes of the carbon atom have different numbers of neutrons. Three different isotopes of the carbon atom are found commonly (Table 2). Carbon-12 is the most abundant isotope and is represented as 12C (12 is the sum of the protons and neutrons); the mass of one atom of 12C is approximately 12 amu. Carbon-13 (or 13C) has 7 neutrons and 6 protons; app
