Halogen

Atomic Mass of Tennessine (Ts)

Quick answer

Tennessine has no stable isotope, so no standard atomic weight exists; its most stable isotope has mass number ≈ 294, and the bracketed value [294] marks that estimate.

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Tennessine by the numbers

Z = 117 fixes the protons; the neutron count can vary between isotopes, which is why the atomic mass is an average ([294] u) rather than a round number.

QuantityValue
Atomic number (Z)117
Relative atomic mass[294] (no stable isotope)
Protons117
Neutrons (commonest isotope)177
Electrons117

Atomic mass vs mass number

Mass number (A) counts particles — protons + neutrons in one specific atom, always a whole number. Relative atomic mass is the experimentally measured average over all natural isotopes, so it comes out fractional ([294] is shown in brackets because it is only an estimate). Exams love this one-mark distinction.

Why is the mass in brackets?

Every isotope of Tennessine is radioactive and vanishes too quickly to build up a natural mixture — so the IUPAC convention prints the mass number of the longest-lived isotope in square brackets instead of a standard atomic weight.

Students also ask

Is the atomic mass of Tennessine a whole number?

No — Tennessine has no stable isotopes, so chemists use the bracketed estimate [294] rather than a measured average.

How many neutrons does Tennessine have?

Neutrons = mass number − atomic number. For Tennessine's commonest isotope that is about 294 − 117 = 177, though the exact count differs between isotopes.