Suggest why thr relative atomic mass of chlorine is not a whole number
The relative atomic mass of an element is the weighted average of the masses of its naturally occurring isotopes. Chlorine has two stable isotopes, chlorine-35 and chlorine-37, with masses of approximately 35 amu and 37 amu, respectively. The relative abundance of these isotopes in nature is not in whole number ratios.
Since the relative atomic mass takes into account the abundance of each isotope, it is not a whole number because it is averaged based on the percentages of each isotope present in nature. The average of 35 amu (chlorine-35) and 37 amu (chlorine-37), weighted by their respective natural abundances, results in a value between the two masses and not a whole number.