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The Atomic Mass of an element is the numerical average of all the masses of the naturally occurring isotopes of that element proportionately. Man made elements do not count in supposedly.

IE: If we have an element with atomic weight 100 and we have an isotope of that element with atomic weight 102 and if they occurred equally in nature then the Atomic Mass would be 101.

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Waldo Mayer

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βˆ™ 2y ago
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Leonora Medhurst

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βˆ™ 2y ago

The Atomic Mass of an element is the numerical average of all the masses of the naturally occurring isotopes of that element proportionately. Man made elements do not count in supposedly.

IE: If we have an element with atomic weight 100 and we have an isotope of that element with atomic weight 102 and if they occurred equally in nature then the Atomic Mass would be 101.

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βˆ™ 15y ago

The mass of a proton or a neutron is almost equal to 1 amu. This is not a coincidence-the unit was defined tht way. The atomic mass unit is defined as one-twelfth the mass of a carbon atom containing six protons and six neutrons.

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βˆ™ 15y ago

Elements consists of several different isotopes which have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. As such they each have different isotopic masses. The atomic mass is worked out by multiplying the isotopic masses by the proportion of the element they make up and adding these values together. For example with chlorine:
Chlorine has two main isotopes chlorine-35 and chlorine-37. 35Cl makes up 75% and 37Cl makes up 25% of natural chlorine.
To work out the atomic mass you do:
35 * 75% = 26.25
37 * 25% = 9.25


26.25 + 9.25 = 35.5


So chlorine has an atomic mass of 35.5 grams per mole

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βˆ™ 12y ago

Because the masses of all natural isotopes of an element are involved in the calculus of the atomic weight (for elements atomic weight is the correct expression; atomic massis an expression used correctly only for isotopes); and the atomic masses of isotopes are not integers.

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βˆ™ 10y ago

The atomic number of an element is the number of protons, which is a fixed number for that element. But each atomic nucleus (aside from Hydrogen) also contains some neutrons. The number of neutrons is at least as high as the number of protons, and normally higher, but the number of neutrons is NOT fixed; there are many "isotopes" of atoms within an element, which contain more or fewer neutrons.

The Atomic Mass is a weighted average of all the atoms, calculated based on the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and the percentage of the total mass in each isotope.

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βˆ™ 12y ago

Elements all have multiple isotopes with individual atomic weights so the mass is determined by the weighted mean of all of the isotopes.

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Q: Why is atomic mass of an element an average mass?
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The average atomic mass of an element is the average of the atomic masses of its?

The average atomic mass of an element is the average of the atomic masses of its isotopes (that is a weighted average). You have to take into account the abundance of each isotope when they do your averaging.


Which is a factor in determining the average atomic mass of an element?

The two main factors in determining the average atomic mass of an element are:the isotopic composition of the element (the fraction of each isotope)the atomic mass of each isotope


What is the difference between average atomic mass and atomic mass?

Average atomic mass is the weighted average mass of all the isotopes of an element, taking into account their natural abundances. Atomic mass refers to the mass of a single atom of a specific isotope of an element.


What is the average atomic mass of an element is the average atomic masses of what kind of isotopes?

average atomic massof an element=(Atomic mass of first isotope X % of that isotope) + (Atomic mass of second isotope X % of the second isotope)


What is the average atomic mass Ga?

The average atomic mass of Gallium (Ga) is approximately 69.7 atomic mass units (amu).


What element has an average atomic mass of about 12?

Carbon has an average atomic mass of about 12.


What is the average atomic mass compared to atomic mass?

The average atomic mass is a weighted average of the masses of all isotopes of an element, taking into account their abundance. The atomic mass listed on the periodic table is the weighted average of all naturally occurring isotopes of the element. So, they are essentially the same thing, with the average atomic mass being a more specific term.


Why is there an average atomic mass?

There is an average atomic mass because all atoms of the same element do not have the same amount of neutrons (isotopes), therefore variations in atomic mass exist. The average atomic mass of an element is the estimated average of all the atoms of the same element, given the average of different isotopes in a scientific sample.


What does the atomic mass tell you about the atom?

The Atomic Mass of an element tells you the average mass of an atom in the element.


Which element has a greater atomic mass A or B?

Element A has a greater atomic mass than element B if the atomic mass value of A is higher. The atomic mass represents the average mass of an element’s isotopes based on their abundance in nature.


Which is the average of the mass number of an element isotpes?

The atomic weight or atomic mass.


The weighted average of the masses of all the naturally occurring isotopes of an element is the what?

Atomic weight or atomic mass used in stoichiometric calculations.