What does isotope mean?
Word: Isotope
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Isotope means one of the forms of a chemical element whose atoms have a different number of neutrons, and so a different weight, from the other forms.
Word origin: From two Greek words meaning equal and place, because isotopes of one element share the same place in the periodic table.
How do you spell isotope?
Syllables: i - so - tope
Tricky part: The final e is silent, so students often leave it off. The s near the start stays single.
Watch out for: isotop, isotoap, issotope
Memory tip: Tie a rope round it: isotope finishes with the same silent e as rope.
Isotope in a sentence
Example 1: Uranium-235 is the isotope used as fuel in many nuclear power stations.
Example 2: Our chemistry teacher drew two isotopes of hydrogen on the board.
Example 3: Doctors use a radioactive isotope of iodine to study the thyroid gland.
Fun Fact
The word was suggested in 1913 by a Scottish doctor, Margaret Todd, to the chemist Frederick Soddy, who was studying these atoms.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) isotope
b) nuetron
c) protton
d) electrone
Show answer
a) isotope. Neutron has e before u, electron has no final e, and proton has one t.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
potesio
a) opposite
b) isotope
c) episode
d) isolate
Show answer
b) isotope. With no l, a, d or second p here, isotope is the only word these seven letters make.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
is_t_pe
a) o,a
b) e,o
c) o,o
d) a,o
Show answer
c) o,o. Both iso and tope take o, so the two gaps match.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes. What do they share?
a) exactly the same weight
b) exactly the same age
c) the same number of protons
d) the same number of neutrons
Show answer
c) the same number of protons
2. Archaeologists use an isotope of carbon to find out ____.
a) which language a stone tablet uses
b) who once owned an ancient coin
c) how old a piece of wood or bone is
d) what colour a cloth once was
Show answer
c) how old a piece of wood or bone is
