Atomic Mass of Berkelium (Bk)
Berkelium has no stable isotope, so no standard atomic weight exists; its most stable isotope has mass number ≈ 247, and the bracketed value [247] marks that estimate.
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Berkelium by the numbers
Z = 97 fixes the protons; the neutron count can vary between isotopes, which is why the atomic mass is an average ([247] u) rather than a round number.
| Quantity | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number (Z) | 97 |
| Relative atomic mass | [247] (no stable isotope) |
| Protons | 97 |
| Neutrons (commonest isotope) | 150 |
| Electrons | 97 |
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 ([247] 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 Berkelium 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 Berkelium a whole number?
No — Berkelium has no stable isotopes, so chemists use the bracketed estimate [247] rather than a measured average.
How many neutrons does Berkelium have?
Neutrons = mass number − atomic number. For Berkelium's commonest isotope that is about 247 − 97 = 150, though the exact count differs between isotopes.