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\text NN\text ZZ
We know that if the nucleus had a different atomic number, then the atom would be a
different element. However, the same is not true of the number of neutrons in the
nucleus. It is possible that atoms of the same element may contain different numbers of
neutrons; such atoms are known as isotopes. This comes from Greek: iso- means
"same," and -tope means "place." Thus, isotopes, because they contain the same
number of protons, occupy thesame place on the periodic table. They differ, however, in
the number of neutrons in their nuclei, which causes them to have different masses.
of a single neutral atom of carbon-121212. The number after the hyphen, 121212, is
the sum of the protons and neutrons for that specific isotope of the element. The reason
carbon-121212 is chosen as the isotope to define the unit \text{u}uu is because it is
the most common isotope of carbon.
My textbook uses "amu" and not "u." What gives?
66121266
As we will now examine in more detail, the bulk of an atom's mass is located in its
nucleus. This is because protons and neutrons are much more massive than electrons.
For example, a proton has a mass of1.673\times10^{-27}\text{ kg}1.67310
27 kg1, point, 673, times, 10, start superscript, minus, 27, end
superscript, space, k, g, or 1.007\text{ u}1.007 u1, point, 007, space, u. A neutron
is slightly heavier, with a mass of 1.675\times10^{-27}\text{ kg}1.67510
27 kg1, point, 675, times, 10, start superscript, minus, 27, end
superscript, space, k, g or 1.009\text{ u}1.009 u1, point, 009, space, u. An
electron, on the other hand, has a mass of only 9.109\times10^{31}\text{ kg}9.1091031 kg9, point, 109, times, 10, start
superscript, minus, 31, end superscript, space, k, g, or 5.486\times10^{4}\text{ u}5.486104 u5, point, 486, times, 10, start superscript, minus, 4, end
superscript, space, u. We can summarize this information in the following table:
Nam
e
Charg
e
Symbol
Mass (\text{kg}
)(kg)left
parenthesis, k, g
, right
parenthesis
Mass (\text{u
})(u)left
parenthesis, u
, right
parenthesis
Locat
ion
111
Inside
nucle
us
_1^1\text{p
}^+11p+start
prot
on
111+
+plus
neut
ron
000
subscript, 1, en
d
subscript, start
superscript, 1,
end
superscript, p,
start
superscript, plu
s, end
superscript
^1\text{n}1
nstart
1.675\times10^
{-27}1.67510
superscript, 1,
end
superscript, n
1.673\times10^
{-27}1.67310
271, point, 673, ti
111
Inside
nucle
us
Nam
e
Charg
e
Symbol
Mass (\text{kg}
)(kg)left
parenthesis, k, g
, right
parenthesis
Mass (\text{u
})(u)left
parenthesis, u
, right
parenthesis
Locat
ion
000
Outsi
de
nucle
us
27, end
superscript
\text{e}^-e
elect
ron
111minu
s
e, start
superscript, mi
nus, end
superscript
9.109\times10^
{-31}9.10910
319, point, 109, ti
There are a few things that we should conclude from this table. The first is that protons
and neutrons have masses that are about 2,0002,0002, comma, 000 times greater
than the mass of an electron. As such, electrons are considered to have a negligible
effect upon the overall mass of an atom. (This is a fancy of way of saying that when we
calculate the mass of atoms and molecules, we ignore the mass of electrons). This fact
is illustrated further in the column listing the masses of these particles in \text{u}uu.
The masses have been rounded to the nearest integer; thus, protons and neutrons are
considered to have identical masses of 1\text{ u}1 u1, space, u. While we know that
neutrons are ever-so-slightly heavier than protons, this very small difference in mass is
insignificant for many purposes, and we can simplify things greatly by assuming that
protons and neutrons have equal mass.
We should also note that electrons are considered to have a mass of
~ 0\text{ u}0 u0, space, u. Again, this is not technically true. Keep in mind, however,
that the mass of the electrons is so small in comparison to the masses of the protons
and neutrons in the nucleus that we can simply ignore the electrons' masses altogether.
Therefore, we see that an atom of carbon-121212 has 666 neutrons in the nucleus.
Let's try another example.
Concept check: Chromium-525252 is the most stable isotope of chromium.
How many neutrons are contained in a single atom of chromium- 525252?
Show the answer
525252522424242424245252
# neutrons=mass number(# protons)=5224=28neutrons
52522828
We have now seen that isotopes are defined by their mass number, which is equal to
the sum of the number of protons and neutrons. To show this most simply, chemists
commonly use the following notation to indicate atomic number, mass number, and
charge, all in one symbol:
And yet, if you look on the periodic table, you'll find that the mass of an atom of chlorine
is given as 35.45\text{ u}35.45 u35, point, 45, space, u. Where do the numbers
after the decimal come from? If you guessed that this number might be the mass of
anaverage atom of chlorine, you would be correct. In fact, all of the masses that you see
on the periodic table are averages that are based on the masses and abundances of all
the stable isotopes of each element. These average masses are referred to as atomic
weights. In comparison, atomic mass refers to the mass of a specific isotope. We use
atomic masses to calculate the atomic weight of a given element.
Let's now further consider the atomic weight of chlorine. As we said before, chlorine
has 222 stable isotopes: chlorine-353535 and chlorine-373737. The atomic weight of
chlorine given on the periodic table is 35.45\text{ u}35.45 u35, point, 45, space, u.
This begs the question, why isn't the atomic weight of chlorine simply the average
of 353535 and 373737, which would be 36\,\text u36u36, space, u?
The answer has to do with the fact that different isotopes have different relative
abundances, meaning that some isotopes are more naturally abundant on Earth than
others. In the case of chlorine, chlorine-353535 has a relative abundance
of 75.76\%75.76%75, point, 76, percent, whereas chlorine-373737 has a relative
abundance of 24.24\%24.24%24, point, 24, percent. Note that relative abundances
are percentages, and thus the relative abundances of all the different stable isotopes of
an element will add up to100\%100%100, percent. The atomic weight that you find on
the periodic table is actually a weighted average calculated from these values. To better
illustrate this, let's calculate the atomic weight of chlorine.
When calculating molecular weight, do we use atomic weight or atomic mass?
Mass spectrometry
We now know how to find atomic weights by calculating weighted averages using
relative abundances. But where do these relative abundances come from? For example,
how do we know that 75.76\%75.76%75, point, 76, percent of all chlorine on Earth is
chlorine-353535?
The answer is that these relative abundances can be determined experimentally using a
technique called a mass spectrometry.
Concept check: Based on this spectrum, what is the most common isotope of
zirconium in our sample?
Show the answer
\text{Zr}-90Z, r, minus, 90
Based on the relative height or intensity of the peaks at a given mass-to-charge ratio,
we can find the relative abundances of the isotopes. Using this information, we can
calculate the atomic weight of zirconium by finding a weighted average of the atomic
masses for each isotope. To try this calculation yourself, see the practice problem
below!
Nowadays, we already know the atomic weights for all the most common elements, and
so it is not often necessary to analyze individual elements using mass spectrometry
(except to teach students!). Most of the time, working chemists use mass spectrometry
in the lab in order to help them determine the structure or identity of unknown
molecules and compounds. In today's world, mass spectrometry is an invaluable
analytical tool, not only in chemistry, but also in medicine, forensics, environmental
science, and other important fields.
Summary
Atoms that have the same number of protons and electrons but different
numbers of neutrons are known asisotopes.
Isotopes of a given element have different atomic masses.
The relative abundance of an isotope is the fraction of a single element that
exists on Earth with a specific atomic mass.
Atomic weights are weighted averages calculated by multiplying the relative
abundance of each isotope by its atomic mass, and then summing up all the products.
The relative abundances of each isotope can be determined using mass
spectrometry.
A mass spectrometer ionizes atoms and molecules with a high-energy electron
beam, and then deflects the ions through a magnetic field based on the mass-to-charge
ratio of the ion, \dfrac{m}{z}zmstart fraction, m, divided by, z, end fraction.
The mass spectrum of a sample shows relative abundance of each ion on the yaxis and \dfrac{m}{z}zmstart fraction, m, divided by, z, end fraction along the xaxis.
Attributions and references
1.
2.
Try it!
Based on the simulated mass spectrum of zirconium above, we get the following atomic
masses and relative abundances for the isotopes of zirconium:
Isotope
Atomic
mass (\te
xt uuu)
Relative
abundan
ce (\%
%percent)
\
text{Zr-}
90Zr-90Z,
\
text{Zr-}
91Zr-91Z,
\
text{Zr-}
92Zr-92Z,
\
text{Zr-}
94Zr-94Z,
\
text{Zr-}
96Zr-96Z,
r, negative
, 90
r, negative
, 91
r, negative
, 92
r, negative
, 94
r, negative
, 96
89.90589.
90589, poi
90.90690.
90690, poi
91.90591.
90591, poi
93.90693.
90693, poi
95.90895.
90895, poi
nt, 905
nt, 906
nt, 905
nt, 906
nt, 908
51.4551.4
551, point,
11.2211.2
211, point,
17.1517.1
517, point,
17.3817.3
817, point,
2.802.802
45
22
15
38
, point, 80