A Closer Look at Matter

Pre-AP Chemistry
Review of Isotopes (Atomic Mass, Mass Number, and Neutron Number)
Calculating the number of neutrons

N (neutron number) = A (atomic mass) - Z (atomic number)

Atomic Mass

Atomic Number
Sample Problem: How to solve and write
1. Determine the number of protons, neutrons, and
electrons present in a 4+ ion of Pb-207 207 Pb4+
2. Write the symbol for this cation using the notation 82
on the previous slide.

What to think about:

1. A 4+ cation has 4 fewer electrons than protons.

The atomic number of Pb is 82. Therefore, 82-4=
78.
2. The number of protons= the atomic number. The
number of neutrons is determined by subtracting
the atomic number from the atomic mass.
You do these problems:
Directions

1. Insert a slide after this slide.

2. Show your work to the following problems on the slide.

Problems:

A. Determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons present in a 2+ cation of calcium.
B. Determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons present in a 2- anion of tellurium.
C. Complete the following table below.

Notation Atomic Mass Number of Number of Number of

Mass Number Protons Neutrons Electrons

79 34 34

47 109 46
Isotopes and Mass Spectrometry
Isotopes have different forms of the same The number of naturally occurring isotopes of an
element. element and their relative masses and
abundances may be determined by a mass
For example:
spectrometer.
● 98.89% of naturally occurring carbon
It uses the fact that charged particles moving
atoms have 6 neutrons (carbon-12),
through a magnetic field are deflected from their
1.11% have 7 neutrons (carbon-13), and
original path based on their charge-to-mass
fewer than 0.01% have 8 neutrons
ratio.
(carbon- 14)

Different Figure 1.
masses Mass
bend spectrometer
differently
Sample Problem: Calculating Atomic Mass
1. Use the mass spectrometry data below to calculate the atomic mass of neon.
Isotope Mass of Atom in amu Percent Abundance in Nature
(relative to 12C= 12.000)

neon-20 19.9924 90.48

neon-21 20.9938 0.27

neon-22 21.9914 9.25

What to think about:

How to do it:
1. The calculated atomic
mass is the weighted [(Mass Ne-20) (% abundance) ] + [(Mass Ne-21) (% abundance)] + [(Mass Ne-22) (% abundance)]

average of the masses of

each isotope. The sum of (19.9924 x 0.9048) + (20.9938 x .0027) + (21.9914 x .0925) = 20.18 amu
the 3 masses x (%
abundance) products will
therefore represent the
atomic mass of neon.
Sample Problem: Calculating Isotope Percent Abundance
1. Boron has two naturally occurring isotopes. Calculate the percent abundances of boron-10 and boron-11
using the data in the table below.
Atomic Mass of boron 10.81

Isotopic Mass of boron-10 10.0129

Isotopic Mass of boron-11 11.0093

What to think about:

How to do it:
1. The weighted averages of the
isotopes yield the atomic mass of
[(x) (amu) ] + [(1-x) (amu)] = 10.81
10.81 amu.
2. The sum must equal 1.Therefore. [(x ) x (10.0129)] + [(x-1) x (11.0093) = 10.81 amu
x= abundance of boron-10 and
(x-1)= abundance of boron-11. 11.0093 x - 10.0129x = 11.0093- 10.81
3. Solve for x an (x-1 ) and then
0.9964 x = 0.1993
express those as percentages.
x= 0.200 and x-1= 0.800

% abundance boron-10 is 20% and % abundance of boron-11 is 80%

You do these problems:
Directions

1. Insert a slide after this slide.

2. Show your work to the following problems on the slide.

Problems: Atomic mass of 35.453 amu

chlorine
A. Chlorine has two naturally occurring isotopes.
Isotopic mass of 34.9689 amu
Calculate the percent abundances of chlorine-35 and chlorine-35
chlorine-37 using the data.
B. Use the mass spectrometry data below to calculate Isotopic mass of 36.9659 amu
chlorine-37
the atomic mass of gallium.
Isotope Mass of Atom Percent Abundance in
Nature

gallium-69 68.9256 60.11

gallium-71 70.9247 39.89

Problems to complete in Second Hour of
Class

You are to answer each problem on the slide

created for the problem. Show your work.
Problem #1
Complete the following table for neutral atoms.
Notation Name Atomic Mass Number of Number of Number of
Number Number Protons Neutrons Electrons

77 54

210 84

neptunium-237

97 150

257 100
Problem #2
Write the notation for the following neutral atoms.

(a) An atom with 78 protons and 117 neutrons

(b) An atom with a mass of 237 having 90 electrons

Write the notation for the following ions.

(a) A 3+ cation with 80 electrons and 127 neutrons.

(b) A 1- anion with 54 electrons and 78 neutrons.
(c) An ion with 66 electrons, 69 protons, and 100 neutrons.
Problem #2: ANSWERS ON THIS SLIDE
Write the notation for the following neutral atoms.

(a) An atom with 78 protons and 117 neutrons

(b) An atom with a mass of 237 having 90 electrons

Write the notation for the following ions.

(a) A 3+ cation with 80 electrons and 127 neutrons.

(b) A 1- anion with 54 electrons and 78 neutrons.
(c) An ion with 66 electrons, 69 protons, and 100 neutrons.
Problem #3
Using the following mass spectrometry data to calculate the atomic mass of
magnesium. Show your work!
Isotope Mass of Atom in amu Percent Abundance in
Nature

magnesium-24 23.9850 78.99

magnesium-25 24.9858 10.00

magnesium-26 25.9826 11.01

Problem #4
Silver has two naturally occurring isotopes. Calculate the percent abundance of
silver-107 and silver-109 using the following data. Show your work!

Atomic Mass of Silver 107.87 amu

Isotopic mass of silver-107 106.9051 amu

Isotopic mass of silver-109 108.9045 amu

Problem #5
The average atomic mass of nitrogen is 14.0067 amu. Predict which isotope listed below is most
abundant in nature? Justify your prediction.

a. Nitrogen-13

b. Nitrogen-14

c. Nitrogen-15
Problem #6
Explain why a weighted average is used to calculate the average atomic mass of
an element. Why is it not sufficient to calculate a simple average of the isotope
data?
Problem #7
A mystery element, called “muriaticum” by its discoverer, exists on Earth as a
mixture of two isotopes. The most abundant isotope (75.76%) has a mass of
34.9689 amu; the other isotope (24.24%) has a mass of 36.9659 amu. Calculate
the average atomic mass and identify the element by its modern name.