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The question is based on an ignorance of what an atomic number is. It represents the number of protons in an atom of the element and is always, ALWAYS a whole number.

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Q: Why at atomic number not whole number in most case?
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Is the atomic weight a whole number?

No, it is not.The atomic mass for an isotope of an element is usually close to a whole number but never exactly so. This is because most elements exist in a number of isotopic forms: they are made up of the same number of protons and electrons but differ in the number of neutrons. So the mass of each isotope of the same element will differ from other isotopes by a whole number of mass units. The atomic mass of the element is the average mass of all its isotopes, weighted together in proportion of the abundance of the elements.The worst offender is dysprosium. The element has 66 proton and electrons 162.5.164-Dy has a mass of 163.929 and accounts for 28.3% of the Dy on earth,162-Dy has a mass of 161.927 and accounts for 25.5% of the Dy on earth,163-Dy has a mass of 162.929 and accounts for 24.9% of the Dy on earth,and there are 4 more isotopes accounting for smaller proportions. When averaged, the atomic mass for Dy is 162.5 - as far from a whole number as you can get!


Explain why the atomic mass of an element is usually not given as a whole number even though each individual atom of the element has a whole number of protons and neutrons.?

There are two 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 carbon-12 is an exact whole number (12) and that is the only element for which that is true. The second, and possibly more important 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 is the most important number in this whole world?

your date of birth...without it you are....nothing (no identity!)


Sara says the number with the most digit is always greatest do you agree Explain?

§ In comparing two whole numbers, the one with the most digits is always the greater number. § In decimals the number with the greatest number of digits is not always the greatest.


What does highest frequency mean?

In the context of: In the sequence 1,5,8,4,7,2,6,4,8,4,4,4,6,4,4, What number has the highest frequency? It refers to the meaning of what number is most often So the answer is 4 in this case

Related questions

What is zinc atomic weight to nearest whole number?

right..... im not sure about it but since the atomic mass of zinc is 65.39 amu then most probably it will be 65 amu rounded to the nearest whole number. hope that helped :D


How can you determine which isotope of a given atom is the most common?

round the atomic weight to the nearest whole number.


Do all isotopes have whole number atomic masses?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is that isotopes have different numbers of neutrons than other isotopes of the same element, so when expressing the mass of an isotope, you don't take an average; you just add the number of neutrons and the number of protons. However, that number is not entirely accurate since the mass of a proton and a neutron are very slightly different. So, if you want to be very exact, then no, the mass of an isotope is not a whole number, but it is very, very close.


Why are all atomic numbers all whole numbers and most atomic mass number end with a decimals?

this is because the atomic number is the number of protons in an atom, and this never changes. However, the recorded atomic mass is a weighted average of all of the isotopes of the atom, because atomic mass is the number protons plus the number of neutrons, and the number of neutrons in an atom differs, causing different atomic masses.


Are most atoms their mass number is the same as their atomic number?

No. In most atoms the mass number is at least twice the atomic number. A mass number that is the same as the atomic number would indicate a nucleus with no neutrons. Such a nucleus would be highly unstable except in the case of the hydrogen-1 nucleus, which consists of a single proton. In most other stable nuclei there are at least as many neutrons as their are protons. The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons.


What is the atomic number of the most electronegative element?

the atomic number for flourine, the most electronegative element, is 9.


Why does this indicate that most chlorine atoms contain 18 neurrons?

Normal chlorine is Cl-35. 35 represents the combined number of protons and neutrons. If you subtract the atomic number of 17 from this, you get 18, which is your neutron count. You can do this for every element; just take the atomic mass number, round it to the nearest whole number, then subtract the atomic number to get the neutrons.


What does the 79 mean in the table of elements?

The 79 is most likely an atomic number - which would be gold (Au) in this case. It is also the number of protons in one atom of gold.


The atomic mass and atomic number of berkelium?

The most stable isotope of berkelium - 247Bk - has an atomic mass of 247. The atomic number of berkelium is 97.


How many neutrons is in californium?

153 neutrons in the most stable isotope Number of neutrons = Atomic mass of an isotope - atomic number. Atomic mass of the most stable isotope of Cf is 251. Atomic number of Cf is 98.


What is the atomic number and the atomic mass of Fe?

Fe, iron, has an atomic number of 26 and an atomic mass of 55.85


Do you need atomic number to find atomic mass?

no you do not need to know the atomic number, as that only equates to the number of protons in an atom. Most periodic charts will show you the atomic mass of an element