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How to find atomic mass of any element, explain.

Aniket Singh , 4 Months ago
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Askiitians Tutor Team

Last Activity: 4 Months ago

The atomic mass of an element, also known as its atomic weight, is a measure of the average mass of the atoms of that element. It is expressed in atomic mass units (amu) or unified atomic mass units (u). To find the atomic mass of any element, you typically follow these steps:

Identify the isotopes: Most elements exist in nature as a mixture of isotopes, which are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons. Each isotope contributes to the overall atomic mass based on its abundance in nature.

Determine the mass of each isotope: Look up the atomic masses of each isotope of the element. Atomic masses are usually reported in atomic mass units (amu) or unified atomic mass units (u).

Calculate the weighted average: To find the atomic mass of the element, calculate the weighted average of the masses of all its isotopes based on their natural abundance. This calculation is typically done using the following formula:

Atomic Mass = (Mass of Isotope1 x Abundance of Isotope1) + (Mass of Isotope2 x Abundance of Isotope2) + ... + (Mass of IsotopeN x Abundance of IsotopeN)

Where:

Mass of Isotope1, Mass of Isotope2, etc., are the atomic masses of each isotope.
Abundance of Isotope1, Abundance of Isotope2, etc., are the natural abundances of each isotope (usually expressed as a decimal or percentage).
Round the atomic mass: Round the calculated atomic mass to the appropriate number of decimal places based on the level of precision required for your calculations or the context in which you are using the value.

Here's an example using carbon as an element:

Carbon has two naturally occurring isotopes: carbon-12 (12C) and carbon-13 (13C).
The atomic mass of carbon-12 is approximately 12.0000 amu, and the atomic mass of carbon-13 is approximately 13.0034 amu.
The natural abundance of carbon-12 is about 98.89%, and the natural abundance of carbon-13 is about 1.11%.
To find the atomic mass of carbon:
Atomic Mass = (12.0000 amu x 0.9889) + (13.0034 amu x 0.0111) = 12.0112 amu
So, the atomic mass of carbon is approximately 12.0112 amu.

Keep in mind that atomic masses listed on the periodic table are already the weighted average values based on the natural abundances of isotopes, so you can directly read the atomic mass from the periodic table for most practical purposes.

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