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Q: Why are mass numbers of elements rarely whole?
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Why is the atomic mass number not a whole number?

We can find Atomic Mass and mass number in chemical elements. Atomic mass is about weight of the atom. Mass number is about total of neutrons and protons.


Does the mass number of an element have to be a whole number?

Approximately, yes. But the mass number is an average of the masses of the isotopes of the element, weighted together according to their abundance. This averaging of different whole numbers results in the mass number not being a whole number.


Why is an elements atomic mass not listed as a whole number on the table?

There are two main reasons. The first is that the masses of protons and neutrons are not 1 unit but slightly greater. The mass of an atom is the mass of a whole number of protons, a whole number of neutrons as well as the same number of electrons as protons. Overall, therefore, the mass should be greater than the number of protons and neutrons (electrons have very little mass). But some of the mass is converted to energy which is used to hold the positively charged nucleus together. As a result the mass of carbon12 is an exact whole number and that is the only element for which that is true.The second, and possibly more relevant reason is that most atoms are found in the form of isotopes which have different numbers of neutrons and so different masses. The atomic mass listed for an element is an average of the masses of all these isotopes, weighted together according to their abundance of earth.


What elements atomic mass is 18.99?

Fluorine


Can mass only be a whole number?

No, it cannot. A whole number is a quantity without units - a pure number. A mass of 1 pound is a whole number of pounds but it is 0.45359 kilograms: not a whole number, or 453.59 grams, again not a whole number.

Related questions

Why the mass numbers on the periodic table of elements are rarely whole numbers?

Elements also possess isotopes. So their average atomic mass is rarely whole number.


The atomic mass of the elements are not whole value numbers because of the existence of?

D. Protons


What are the atomic mass of elements rarely whole numbers?

The atomic mass of elements rarely appears as whole numbers due to the presence of isotopes. Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons, leading to the weighted average of the isotopic masses contributing to the atomic mass. The atomic mass on the periodic table is based on these weighted averages.


Why are mass numbers whole numbers?

mass numbers are whole numbers because the mass number is number of protons in an atom, plus the number of neutrons. you can only have a whole neutron and or proton, therefore, all mass numbers are whole numbers.


Are the mass numbers but not the atonic mass whole numbers?

correct


How do isotopes differ and why is the atomic number of elements not a whole number?

Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, resulting in different atomic masses. The atomic number of elements is not a whole number because it represents the number of protons in the nucleus, which can be a whole number, but the atomic mass accounts for the presence of isotopes with different numbers of neutrons, leading to fractional values.


Why elements don't have whole numbers?

do you mean the why is the average atomic mass not a whole number? because if that is your question, then the answer is that each element has multipal isotopes and the mass you see on the periodic table is the average of all the isotopes together. So there has to be a decimal on the periodic table of elements


Why are the elements 94 through 110 in the periodic table whole numbers?

1. All the atomic numbers are whole numbers. 2. If you think to atomic weight of heavy radioactive elements (atomic numbers from 93 to 118) is a rule of IUPAC to indicate in square parenthesis, [], the atomic mass of the most stable or known isotope.


Why the atomic mass numbers listed for elements on the Periodic Table are not whole numbers.?

Why are atomic masses of elements not generally whole numbers? The atomic masses listed on the periodic table are a weighted AVERAGE of an element'sisotopes. ... An element's atomic number is the number of protons in its nucleus. Number of protons specifies atom type.


What is the average of the mass numbers of an elements isotopes?

the Atomic Mass


The statement that when two elements combine to form two or more compounds the mass of one element that combines with a given mass of the other element is in the ratio of small whole numbers is know?

This statement is known as the Law of Multiple Proportions, which states that when two elements combine to form two or more compounds, the mass of one element that combines with a given mass of the other element will be in the ratio of small whole numbers.


Why is the atomic mass of nobelium a whole number?

The atomic mass of nobelium reported as a whole number is usually the average atomic mass of its isotopes, taking into account the natural abundance of each isotope. Since this average is calculated from the weighted average of the isotopes' masses, the result often appears as a whole number.