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Mass Spec Sheet
Mass Spec Sheet
1 Mass spectrometry
OCR Chemistry A Application
Mass spectrometry
Specification references
• 4.2.4 (f) (g)
• HSW 3
• HSW 5
Introduction
In this task you will explore the use of mass spectrometry as an analytical technique
used by analytical scientists to identify organic compounds.
Learning outcomes
After completing the worksheet you should be able to:
• use a mass spectrum to identify the molecular mass of an organic compound
• analyse fragmentation peaks in a mass spectrum to identify parts of organic
compounds.
Questions
1 It is known that the unidentified substance contains only hydrogen and carbon.
Use the mass spectrum in Figure 1 to:
a identify the molecular mass of the unidentified substance (1 mark)
b list the possible structures for the unidentified substance (3 marks)
c draw displayed formulae for the structures you have identified. (3 marks)
d Identify the fragment ions with:
i m/z = 29
ii m/z = 57
iii m/z = 43 (6 marks)
2 A gas with m/z = 28.0312 contains only elements from the following list:
12
C 12.0000
14
N 14.0031
16
O 15.9949
1
H 1.0078
3 Explain why a mass spectrum of CH4 would have a small peak with m/z = 17. (2 marks)