What is meant by the phrase “percent abundance in nature”?

Chemistry: An Atoms First Approach
2nd Edition
ISBN:9781305079243
Author:Steven S. Zumdahl, Susan A. Zumdahl
Publisher:Steven S. Zumdahl, Susan A. Zumdahl
Chapter5: Stoichiometry
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 23Q: Reference Section 5-2 to find the atomic masses of 12C and 13C, the relative abundance of 12C and...
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What is meant by the phrase “percent abundance in nature”?
Since the abundances are not equal, we cannot do a typical simple average where we just add them up
and divide by two. Instead, we need to perform a weighted average. The formula to calculate the
average atomic mass is:
average atomic mass = [(relative abundance x mass of isotope)
Remember that is the symbol for sum. In other words, we will take the sum of the relative abundance
of each isotope multiplied by its mass.
Example
Neon has three naturally occurring isotopes.
Symbol
Ne-20
Ne-21
Ne-22
Mass Isotopic mass Percent natural
number
(amu)
abundance
20
21
22
19.9924
20.9938
21.9914
90.48%
0.27%
9.25%
…..
Remember that mass number is not the same as the atomic mass or isotopic mass! The mass number is
the number of protons + neutrons, while atomic mass (or isotopic mass) is the mass if you were to
somehow weigh it on a balance.
Transcribed Image Text:Since the abundances are not equal, we cannot do a typical simple average where we just add them up and divide by two. Instead, we need to perform a weighted average. The formula to calculate the average atomic mass is: average atomic mass = [(relative abundance x mass of isotope) Remember that is the symbol for sum. In other words, we will take the sum of the relative abundance of each isotope multiplied by its mass. Example Neon has three naturally occurring isotopes. Symbol Ne-20 Ne-21 Ne-22 Mass Isotopic mass Percent natural number (amu) abundance 20 21 22 19.9924 20.9938 21.9914 90.48% 0.27% 9.25% ….. Remember that mass number is not the same as the atomic mass or isotopic mass! The mass number is the number of protons + neutrons, while atomic mass (or isotopic mass) is the mass if you were to somehow weigh it on a balance.
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