Calculate the atomic mass of oxygen given the mass and natural occurrence of each isotope. Round your answer to the hundredths place
The atomic mass of an element is calculated by taking the weighted average of the atomic masses of its isotopes, considering their natural abundance.
The three isotopes of oxygen and their natural abundances are:
- Oxygen-16 (99.757%)
- Oxygen-17 (0.038%)
- Oxygen-18 (0.205%)
To calculate the atomic mass, we can multiply the atomic mass of each isotope by its natural abundance and sum the results.
Atomic mass of Oxygen-16 = 16 amu * 0.99757 = 15.97432 amu
Atomic mass of Oxygen-17 = 17 amu * 0.00038 = 0.00646 amu
Atomic mass of Oxygen-18 = 18 amu * 0.00205 = 0.0369 amu
Now, we can add these three values together to get the atomic mass of oxygen:
15.97432 amu + 0.00646 amu + 0.0369 amu = 16.01768 amu
Rounding this to the hundredths place gives us an atomic mass of oxygen of 16.02 amu.