Atomic Masses
Atomic Masses
Atomic Masses
1A 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 8A
3B 4B 5B 6B 7B — 8B — 1B 2B
(3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)
1 H He
2 Li Be B C N O F Ne
3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
4 K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
5 Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
6 Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
7 Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Uub — Uuq — — — —
6 Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
7 Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
For instance, it can be determined experimentally that neon consists of three isotopes:
neon-20 (with 10 protons and 10 neutrons in its nucleus) with a mass of 19.992 amu and
an abundance of 90.48%, neon-21 (with 10 protons and 11 neutrons) with a mass of
20.994 amu and an abundance of 0.27%, and neon-22 (with 10 protons and 12 neutrons)
with a mass of 21.991 amu and an abundance of 9.25%. The average atomic mass of
neon is thus:
The atomic mass is useful in chemistry when it is paired with the mole concept: the
atomic mass of an element, measured in amu, is the same as the mass in grams of one
mole of an element. Thus, since the atomic mass of iron is 55.847 amu, one mole of
iron atoms would weigh 55.847 grams. The same concept can be extended to ionic
compounds and molecules. One formula unit of sodium chloride (NaCl) would weigh
58.44 amu (22.98977 amu for Na + 35.453 amu for Cl), so a mole of sodium chloride
would weigh 58.44 grams. One molecule of water (H2O) would weigh 18.02 amu
(2×1.00797 amu for H + 15.9994 amu for O), and a mole of water molecules would
weigh 18.02 grams.
The original periodic table of the elements published by Dimitri Mendeleev in 1869
arranged the elements that were known at the time in order of increasing atomic weight,
since this was prior to the discovery of the nucleus and the interior structure of the
atom. The modern periodic table is arranged in order of increasing atomic
number instead.