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Why cant you add the average masses of each of the isotopes and divide to get overall average of the atoms?
Because the isotopes do not appear in equal amounts.
This is hardly surprising since many isotopes experience radioactive decay and change to other elements after decay while stable isotopes persist - thus stable isotopes will usually dominate as the most common isotopes for individual elements with those with the longest half-lifes being more common than those with shorter half-lifes. Of course when you get into the heaviest elements there don't seem to be any stable isotopes so those with longest half life dominate.
What else can I help you with?
Suppose a newly discovered element has three isotopes that occur in nature Assume that these isotopes occurr in equal amounts in nature What will be the average atomic mass of this element?
The average atomic mass of the element would be the average of the atomic masses of the three isotopes. Since they occur in equal amounts, the average atomic mass would be the sum of the atomic masses of the three isotopes divided by 3. This average atomic mass is a weighted average, taking into account the relative abundance of each isotope.
What is the name for atoms of an element that have different masses?
An atom or element that have different masses are known as isotopes.
Which best describes the definition of the atomic mass of an element?
it is the weighted average of the masses of an element's isotopes.
Which statement best explains why most atomic masses on the periodric table are decimal numbers?
Most atomic masses on the periodic table are decimal numbers because they are weighted averages of the masses of all isotopes of an element, taking into account their relative abundance. Since isotopes have different masses, the atomic mass is typically not a whole number.
How is average atomic mass determined from isotopic masses?
The atomic mass that you see on the periodic table is an average mass taken from all of the element's known isotopes. Simply find the average of all of the masses of the isotopes of an element.
What is the average mass of the mixture of an elements isotopes?
All of the isotopes in an element's atomic masses divided by the amount of isotopes there are is the weighted-average mass of the mixture of an elements isotopes.
What is the weighted average of the atomic masses of an element's naturally occurring isotopes is called the?
The weighted average of the atomic masses of an element's naturally occurring isotopes is called the atomic mass. This value takes into account the abundance of each isotope in nature when calculating the overall average atomic mass of the element.
How do the decimal places on the atomic masses of elements realate to isotopes?
The atomic mass of an element is the weighted average of masses of the isotopes of the element, weighted in proportion to their abundance.
Suppose a newly discovered element has three isotopes that occur in nature Assume that these isotopes occurr in equal amounts in nature What will be the average atomic mass of this element?
The average atomic mass of the element would be the average of the atomic masses of the three isotopes. Since they occur in equal amounts, the average atomic mass would be the sum of the atomic masses of the three isotopes divided by 3. This average atomic mass is a weighted average, taking into account the relative abundance of each isotope.
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.
Are the mass number is an average of the masses of all naturally occurring isotopes of an element?
Yes they do.
What is the average mass of an isotope?
You must specify the element whose isotopes you want the weighted average mass for. Otherwise there is no answer as just averaging the masses of isotopes without accounting for how much of each isotope is present in a sample of an element is meaningless. Also averaging masses of isotopes of different elements is also meaningless.
What is an average of the masses of all the isotopes that occur in nature For an element?
The weighted average for all isotopes that occur in nature for an element is its atomic weight listed on the Periodic Table of the elements.
What is the name for atoms of an element that have different masses?
An atom or element that have different masses are known as isotopes.
What is a weighted average of the masses of all of the naturally occurring isotopes of an element?
The mean Atomic Mass.
Which best describes the definition of the atomic mass of an element?
it is the weighted average of the masses of an element's isotopes.
Which statement best explains why most atomic masses on the periodric table are decimal numbers?
Most atomic masses on the periodic table are decimal numbers because they are weighted averages of the masses of all isotopes of an element, taking into account their relative abundance. Since isotopes have different masses, the atomic mass is typically not a whole number.
