Chemical element hydrogen and deuterium). Thus, all carbon isotopes have nearly identical chemical properties because they all have six protons and six electrons, even though carbon atoms may, for example, have 6 or 8 neutrons. That is why the atomic number, rather than mass number or atomic weight, is considered the identifying characteristic of a chemical element. The symbol for atomic number is "Z". Isotopes are atoms of the same element (that is, with the same number of protons in their atomic nucleus), but having "different" numbers of neutrons. Thus, for example, there are three main isotopes of carbon. All carbon atoms
Atomic mass Atomic mass The atomic mass ("m") is the mass of an atom. Its unit is the unified atomic mass units (symbol: u, or Da) where 1 unified atomic mass unit is defined as of the mass of a single carbon-12 atom, at rest. For atoms, the protons and neutrons of the nucleus account for almost all of the mass, and the atomic mass measured in u has nearly the same value as the mass number. When divided by unified atomic mass units or daltons to form a pure numeric ratio, the atomic mass of an atom becomes a dimensionless value