Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Relative atomic mass (symbol: A r; sometimes abbreviated RAM or r.a.m.), also known by the deprecated synonym atomic weight, is a dimensionless physical quantity defined as the ratio of the average mass of atoms of a chemical element in a given sample to the atomic mass constant.
The atomic mass (relative isotopic mass) is defined as the mass of a single atom, which can only be one isotope (nuclide) at a time, and is not an abundance-weighted average, as in the case of relative atomic mass/atomic weight. The atomic mass or relative isotopic mass of each isotope and nuclide of a chemical element is, therefore, a number ...
The standard atomic weight is a special value of the relative atomic mass. It is defined as the "recommended values" of relative atomic masses of sources in the local environment of the Earth's crust and atmosphere as determined by the IUPAC Commission on Atomic Weights and Isotopic Abundances (CIAAW). [2]
The tabulated atomic masses of elements are averages that account for the presence of multiple isotopes with different masses. Before the discovery of isotopes, empirically determined noninteger values of atomic mass confounded scientists. For example, a sample of chlorine contains 75.8% chlorine-35 and 24.2% chlorine-37, giving an average ...
The mass number gives an estimate of the isotopic mass measured in atomic mass units (u). For 12 C, the isotopic mass is exactly 12, since the atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12 of the mass of 12 C. For other isotopes, the isotopic mass is usually within 0.1 u of the mass number.
Deuterium, 2 H (atomic mass 2.014 101 777 844 (15) Da), the other stable hydrogen isotope, has one proton and one neutron in its nucleus, called a deuteron. 2 H comprises 26–184 ppm (by population, not mass) of hydrogen on Earth; the lower number tends to be found in hydrogen gas and higher enrichment (150 ppm) is typical of seawater.
The relative atomic mass (a weighted average, weighted by mole-fraction abundance figures) of these isotopes is the atomic weight listed for the element in the periodic table. The abundance of an isotope varies from planet to planet, and even from place to place on the Earth, but remains relatively constant in time (on a short-term scale).
Chlorine (17 Cl) has 25 isotopes, ranging from 28 Cl to 52 Cl, and two isomers, 34m Cl and 38m Cl. There are two stable isotopes, 35 Cl (75.8%) and 37 Cl (24.2%), giving chlorine a standard atomic weight of 35.45. The longest-lived radioactive isotope is 36 Cl, which has a half-life of 301,000 years. All other isotopes have half-lives under 1 ...