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Relative Atomic Mass

is

the ratio of the average

massof

atomsof an

elementto 1/12 of the mass of an atom of

carbon-12. The mass number of an isotope is the sum of protons and neutrons in the atoms of the isotope.

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Q: Why is the mass numbers of isotopes exact whole numbers but the relative masses of most Atoms are not exact whole numbers?
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Related questions

What are atoms of the same element but with different masses?

Atoms of the same element that have different masses are called isotopes of the element. The presence of different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus is responsible for the existence of isotopes of an element.


Which term describes atoms with different atomic masses due to varying numbers of neutrons?

Isotopes (Pretty Sure)


What does it mean if two atoms are isotopes?

If two atoms are isotopes, it means they have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Thus, they have the same atomic numbers, but different atomic masses.


What are atoms that have different masses but the number of protons?

Atoms that have different mass numbers but the [same] number of protons are called isotopes.


What is the name for atoms of an element that have different masses?

An atom or element that have different masses are known as isotopes.


Atoms of the same element with different atomic masses?

what is an atom of the same element with different mass numbers


How are isotopes different from state atoms?

The atoms of a chemical element can exist in different types. These are called isotopes. They have the same number of protons (and electrons), but different numbers of neutrons. Different isotopes of the same element have different masses.


Two atoms of same elements with different masses?

s


What are atoms of the same element thay have different atomic masses?

when you have two different forms of an atom with different masses, it's called an isotope of the atom.


How are isotopes related to atomic masses not being whole numbers?

Atomic masses are the weighted average of all the isotopes of an element. The average is based on the relative abundance of each isotope. Let say we have an element with two isotopes, the first isotope has a mass of 6 and the second has a mass of 8. If we took a straight average of the atomic masses then the element would have a mass of 7. But a weighted average based on the abundance of each isotope would be different (unless both isotopes are found to be in equal amounts ie. both 50% abundance) If the isotope with a mass of 6 had a relative abundance of 75% (meaning that 3/4 of all atoms of that element had a mass of 6) then the other isotope would have a relative abundance of 25% (relative abundance must add up to 100%). The atomic mass of the elements would be calculated by multiplying each isotopes mass my the relative abundance and then adding the two results together. 75% (6) = 4.5 25% (8) = 2.0 4.5 + 2.0 = 6.5 The atomic mass for this element would have an atomic mass of 6.5 amu (atomic mass units)


What is the definition of isotopes?

isotopes are atoms of the same element, having same atomic number but different atomic masses due to the difference in the number of neutrons presentIsotopes are atoms that have differing numbers of neutrons, but the same number of protons.


What is the name for atoms of an element having different masses?

Isotopes =)