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why is the mass number of an isotope always a whole number

by Prof. Amya Mann Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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The mass number of an isotope is always a whole number. This is because the mass number, the relative mass of the isotope, is the sum of all the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of one atom of the isotope. As you cannot have fractions of a proton or a neutron, the result can only be a whole number.

Full Answer

How do you calculate the atomic mass of isotopes?

multiply the mass of each isotope by its corresponding natural abundance (percentage abundance). But, since the abundance is in %, you must also divide each abundance value by 100. And second, Sum the result to get the atomic mass of the element Thus, Atomic mass of oxygen = 15.995 amu (99.76/100) + 16.999 amu (.04/100) + 17.999 amu (.2/100)

What is the formula for isotopes?

To calculate it, we have to take into account the abundance of each isotope, as shown in the formula below: Aᵣ = relative mass of isotope A × abundance of isotope A + relative mass of isotope B × abundance of isotope B. Let’s apply this formula on hydrogen.

What is the average atomic mass of an isotope?

Calculating Average Atomic Mass Average atomic mass = f1M1 + f2M2 +… + fnMn where f is the fraction representing the natural abundance of the isotope and M is the mass number (weight) of the isotope. The average atomic mass of an element can be found on the periodic table, typically under the elemental symbol.

How do isotopes of an element differ from each other?

  • The all have different number of neutrons
  • If unstable, they all have different half lives.
  • They all have different atomic weights.
  • If unstable, they all have different emission energies.
  • They all have different percent abundances.

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Why atomic number is always whole number?

Atomic number is the number of protons or electrons in an atom. Since this is countable, it's always a whole number.

Why mass number is always whole number but atomic mass is fractional?

Reason for fractional atomic mass: The atomic masses of most elements are fractional because they exist as a mixture of isotopes of different masses. Since the atomic mass of isotopes are different, so average atomic mass is calculated for a single element.

Why is mass number always a whole number quizlet?

Is the mass number a whole number? Yes, it is a whole number because it is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom.

Are isotopes whole numbers?

The atomic mass reported on a periodic table is the weighted average of all the naturally occuring isotopes. Being an average it would be most unlikely to be a whole number....Mass Number.AtomHydrogen-1Protons1+ Neutrons0= Mass Number16 more columns

Why the atomic masses of many elements are in fractions and not whole numbers?

The atomic masses of some elements are in fraction instead of whole numbers. This is due to the existence of isotopes having different mass number. The isotopes of an element have different atomic mass and the percentage of these isotopes vary in nature.

Why is the atomic mass not always a whole number?

The reason the atomic mass is not a whole number is because it's the weighted average mass of the isotopes of that specific element.

Is the mass of an isotope a whole number quizlet?

Is the mass of an isotope a whole number? -Yes, it is a whole number because it is the number of protons in an atom.

Are mass numbers usually whole?

Mass numbers of elements are always whole numbers but Atomic masses are not. This is due to the existence of Isotopes. The atomic mass of an element is the average mass of the atoms of an element measured in the atomic mass unit.

What does must be a whole number mean?

A whole number is simply any positive number that does not include a fractional or decimal part. This means that, for example, the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are all whole numbers. Numbers such as -3, 2.7, or 3 ½ are not whole numbers.

Is actual isotopic mass a whole number?

We know that isotopes are atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers due to a different number of neutrons. The mass number of an element is a whole number whereas the actual mass of an atom is not a whole number except for carbon-12.

Can isotopes have decimal masses?

Atomic masses are the weighted average of all the isotopes of the element; hence, the atomic mass is always in decimal form as a fractional average.

What is the rule of whole number?

In chemistry, the whole number rule states that the masses of the isotopes are whole number multiples of the mass of the hydrogen atom. The rule is a modified version of Prout's hypothesis proposed in 1815, to the effect that atomic weights are multiples of the weight of the hydrogen atom.

What is a mass number quizlet?

Mass Number. Is the sum of the protons plus the number of neutrons in the nucleus. Neutrons add mass to an atom but do not change the atomic number. The mass of a proton is the same as a neutron. The number of Protons in an atom..

Why are atomic masses not whole numbers quizlet?

Atomic masses aren't whole numbers because they represent weighted averages of the masses of the isotopes of an element.

Which isotope has the same mass and mass number?

The only isotope whose atomic mass and mass number are the same is C-12. In order to calibrate a mass spectrometer to measure the mass of atoms, scientists had to come up with a standard to compare the mass of atoms to. They chose an atom of C-12 as the standard and assigned it a mass of exactly 12 atomic mass units (u).

Why is the atomic mass not a whole number?

The atomic mass is not a whole number even though the masses of protons and neutrons are whole numbers is because of the existence of the isotopes of the atoms of the same element. For example, the element hydrogen has three isotopes and they are hydogen-1 with a mass of 1, hydrogen-2 with a mass of 2 and hydrogen-3 with a mass of 3. The most abundant of these isotopes is hydrogen-1 and the other two isotopes are rarely found.

What does it mean when the number of neutrons is right?

When the number of neutrons is right then the nucleus is “stable ,” which mostly means that it won’t decay if you leave it alone, or at least it won’t decay very quickly. There are some elements where all isotopes are so unstable (no amount of neutrons is close enough to right) that no naturally occurring atoms exist because they decay too quickly. Technetium (atomic weight 43, atomic mass 98, half life 400ky) is the lightest element like that.

What does the atomic number mean?

Atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus. Since this also determines the number of electrons a neutral atom has, the atomic number indicates the chemical element. In other words, all atoms with the same atomic number are the same chemical element.

What is the atomic mass of a nucleus?

The atomic mass is, generally speaking, the sum of neutrons and protons in the nucleus. Neutrons work via the weak nuclear force to hold the nucleus together against the electrostatic repulsion of the positively charged protons - the more protons a nucleus contains, the more neutrons are necessary to keep it stable. Different numbers of n

How do neutrons work?

Neutrons work via the weak nuclear force to hold the nucleus together against the electrostatic repulsion of the positively charged protons - the more protons a nucleus contains, the more neutrons are necessary to keep it stable. Different numbers of neutrons and the same number of protons is what we mean by isotopes of an element.

What is the mass number of an atom?

Mass number is just the number of protons + neutrons in an atom’s nucleus. However, each element has numerous isotopes, which are different forms of the same element (same number of protons) with different numbers of neutrons. The atomic mass is a weighted average of the mass numbers of naturally abundant isotopes of each element.

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17 hours ago  · Relative isotopic masses are always close to whole-number values, but never (except in the case of carbon-12) exactly a whole number, for two reasons: protons and …

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22 hours ago  · Why are the mass numbers of isotopes exact whole numbers? It is also called atomic mass number or nucleon number. Different isotopes of the same element have …

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30 hours ago  · The mass number is the number of protons + neutrons in a given isotope - so it is always a whole number. The atomic mass is the measured mass of a given isotope and …

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17 hours ago The mass number is also a whole number, equal to the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons in an isotope. It is the atomic mass that cannot be a whole number for two …

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18 hours ago The atomic number is ALWAYS a whole number! It is simply the number of protons in the nucleus of an element. The mass number is also a whole number, equal to the sum of the number of …

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