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Because most elements that have at least one isotope stable against radioactive decay have more than one such isotope. The individual isotopes have integer mass numbers, but the naturally occurring abundances of the various isotopes do not usually have any integral ratios to one another, and the atomic mass is a weighted average of the isotope masses.

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13y ago
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5mo ago

The Atomic Mass is not an even whole number because it is the weighted average of all the isotopes of an element, taking into account their abundance. Since isotopes have different masses due to varying numbers of neutrons, the atomic mass is typically a decimal value.

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Q: Why is the atomic mass not a nice even number?
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