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Molar Mass SG
Molar Mass SG
Learning Objectives 2
Warm Up 2
Bibliography 16
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Lesson 6.1
Atomic Mass
Introduction
When we buy fruits in the market, it is either we usually purchase it per kilogram or per
piece. When we buy rice, we also purchase it by its weight. It is easy to get the weight of
different macroscopic items; all you need to have is a weighing scale. The weights of
different fruits and vegetables can be compared using a weight scale. An atom, however, is
significantly much smaller than these fruits and vegetables. It has been a challenge for
scientists to measure the mass of something invisible and indivisible. How do we measure
the mass of an atom? In this lesson, the different mass expressions used to represent the
weight of an atom will be discussed.
6.1. Atomic Mass 1
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Warm Up
Egg-gen 20 minutes
Obtaining a mass of an atom is not as easy as getting the weight of a person. It requires a
more tedious procedure. In some cases, an element may have different mass due to the
difference in its number of neutrons; in this case, to get the mass of the element, we get its
average mass.
Materials
● plastic toy eggs (use at least three different colors with three eggs per color)
● sand
● weighing scale
● periodic table of element
Note for teachers: Put weight (i.e sand) inside the plastic toy eggs. The three egg toys with
the same color should have different weights that are close to each other. Each color
should represent the mass of a particular element, and its isotopes.
6.1. Atomic Mass 2
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Procedure
1. Weigh the three plastic toy eggs with the same color. Record your data.
2. Repeat the procedure until you finish weighing all plastic toy eggs.
3. Get the average mass of the plastic toy eggs that have the same color.
4. Using the periodic table, identify the hypothetical element.
Observation Table
Table 6.1.1. Mass of the plastic toy eggs
Color of
Average Identity of the
plastic toy 1 2 3
Mass element
eggs
Guide Questions
1. Is it possible for an atom of the same kind to have different mass? What do you call
these atoms?
2. Can you identify the element by getting the average masses of each isotope alone?
3. Suppose you have ten toy eggs, four of them have a mass of 3.9 grams, while the
other six have a mass of 4.1 grams. Aside from simply getting the mean of their
mass, what are the other methods that you can consider to get the average mass of
the ten toy eggs?
6.1. Atomic Mass 3
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
The basic unit of matter is atoms. It is the smallest component of a chemical element. Atoms
of each element have specific properties that will determine their chemical and physical
nature. One of these properties is the mass of an atom.
6.1. Atomic Mass 4
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
A single element can have varying numbers of isotopes. For example, hydrogen has three
isotopes, while carbon has two isotopes. The average weight of all isotopes in a normal
environment is called the relative atomic mass. The International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) publishes suggested values, which are updated every year. It is
assumed that in a given sample, this value can be used for science and industry. The relative
atomic mass is a standardized number and is assumed to be true for most of the planet
Earth's crust.
Average Atomic Mass
Aside from the mass difference of isotopes, they also differ in their percentage natural
abundance—for example, Table 6.1.2. shows the percentage of the natural abundance of
isotopes of carbon.
Table 6.1.2. Isotopes of carbon and their relative abundances
6.1. Atomic Mass 5
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
When the natural percentage abundance is considered in calculating the weight of the
naturally occurring isotopes of an element, it is called an average atomic mass. Average
atomic mass differs depending on the chemical sample.
The general formula for the average atomic mass is given below:
6.1. Atomic Mass 6
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Let's Practice!
Example 1
Copper is used in electrical cables and pennies,among other things. The atomic masses of
Step 3: Write the equation for the average atomic mass.
6.1. Atomic Mass 7
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Step 5: Solve for the average atomic mass.
65.55 amu
Therefore, the average atomic mass of copper is 65.55 amu.
1 Try It!
The atomic masses of the two stable isotopes of boron, (0.1978) and
(0.8022), are 10.0129 amu and 11.0093 amu, respectively. Calculate the average
atomic mass of boron. The relative abundances are given in parentheses.
Example 2
Chlorine has two isotopes (75.53%) and (24.47%). Their atomic masses are
34.968 amu and 36.956 amu, respectively. Determine the average atomic mass of chlorine.
The percentages in parentheses denote the relative abundances.
Step 1: Identify what is being asked.
You are asked to get the average atomic mass.
Step 2: Identify what is given.
The relative abundance and the atomic masses of the two isotopes were
given.
6.1. Atomic Mass 8
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Step 3: Write the equation for the average atomic mass.
Step 4: Substitute the given values.
Step 5: Solve for the average atomic mass.
35.454 amu
Therefore, the average atomic mass of chlorine is 35.454 amu.
2 Try It!
Calculate the average atomic mass Si-28( 92.23 percent ), Si-29 ( 4.68 percent), Si-30
(3.09 percent). Their atomic masses are 27.97693 amu, 28.97649 amu, and 29.97377
amu, respectively.
6.1. Atomic Mass 9
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Example 3
and have atomic masses of 6.0151 amu and 7.0160 amu, respectively. Determine
the natural abundances of each isotope, considering that the average atomic mass of Li is
6.941 amu.
Solution
Step 1: Identify what is being asked.
You are asked to get the natural abundance of the two isotopes
Step 2: Identify what is given.
The atomic masses of the two isotopes and the average atomic mass were
given.
Atomic Mass
6.0151 amu
7.0160 amu
Step 3: Write the equation for the average atomic mass.
Step 4: Rearrange the equation to solve for the natural abundance.
Since the sum of the percentage of the two isotopes is 100% or 1, let x be the
6.1. Atomic Mass 10
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Step 6: Solve for the percentage of natural abundance.
Therefore, the percentage of natural abundance of Li-6 and Li-7 are 7.49 % and 92.51 %,
respectively.
3 Try It!
Nitrogen is made up of two isotopes, nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15. Given nitrogen's
average atomic mass of 14.007, what is the percent abundance of each isotope?
Key Points
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
● Atomic mass (also called atomic weight) is the mass of the atom in atomic mass
units (amu). One atomic mass unit is referred to as a mass exactly equal to
one-twelfth the mass of one carbon-12 atom.
● The average weight of all isotopes in a normal environment in the earth’s crust is
called the relative atomic mass.
● The average atomic mass is the sum of all naturally occurring isotopes of an
element multiplied to its natural percentage abundance. This is dependent on a
given sample.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6.1. Atomic Mass 11
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Key Formula
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________ 1. It is the standard mass of the elements that is
determined by IUPAC.
___________________________ 2. It is the sum of all naturally occurring isotopes of an
element multiplied to its natural percentage
abundance.
6.1. Atomic Mass 12
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
___________________________ 4. The average weight of all isotopes in a normal
environment
Working
(2)
equation
Average atomic
(3)
mass
Working
(6)
equation
6.1. Atomic Mass 13
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
mass
Working
(9)
equation
Average atomic
(10)
mass
Working
(13)
equation
Average atomic
(14)
mass
6.1. Atomic Mass 14
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Challenge Yourself
1. Differentiate the relative atomic mass and the average atomic mass. The mass of an
atom can be calculated by adding the mass of its proton and its neutron. Carbon has
six protons and six neutrons. However, the mass of the carbon-12 atom, as shown in
the periodic table of the elements is 12.011 amu. What is the reason behind this?
2. Silver has two isotopes, silver-107 (51.8%) and silver-109 (48.2%). Notice that more
abundant isotope has an atomic mass of 107, but the average atomic mass of silver
on the periodic table is about 107.9. The average atomic mass is closer to 108.
Explain why the average atomic mass is closer to 109 even though the isotope
silver-107 has a greater percent abundance.
3. Neon-20 and neon-22 are two major isotopes of neon. Out of every 250 neon atoms,
225 will be Neon-20 (19.992 amu) and 25 will be Neon-22 (21.991 amu). Calculate the
average atomic mass of neon.
4. Considering the data from the table below. Calculate the abundance for the two
lighter isotopes of Tungsten, if the average atomic mass is: 183.841 amu.
181.948
Tungsten-182 ?
182.950
Tungsten-183 ?
183.950
Tungsten-184 30.64
185.954
Tungsten-186 28.43
6.1. Atomic Mass 15
Unit 6: The Mole Concept
Bibliography
Chang, Raymond, and Kenneth A. Goldsby. General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2014.
Handwerker, Mark J. Science Essentials. San Francisco, CA.: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Hawe, Alan, Dan Davies, Kendra McMahon, Lee Towler, Chris Collier, and Tonie Scott.
Science 5–11: A Guide for Teachers. 2nd ed. New York, NY: David Fulton Publishers,
2009.
Petrucci, Ralph H. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications. Toronto, Ont.:
Pearson Canada, 2011.
Silberberg, Martin S. Principles of General Chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.
6.1. Atomic Mass 16