Question

Cadmium consists of eight naturally occurring isotopes. Do you expect any of the isotopes to have the atomic mass listed on the periodic table for cadmium? Explain.

Name: Problem 45, Chapter 4: Basic Chemistry
Uploaded: 2022-03-18T23:49:25-08:00
Duration: 1 min 19 s
Channel: Asami Ehlert
Description: Cadmium consists of eight naturally occurring isotopes. Do you expect any of the isotopes to have the atomic mass listed on the periodic table for cadmium? Explain.

   Cadmium consists of eight naturally occurring isotopes. Do you expect any of the isotopes to have the atomic mass listed on the periodic table for cadmium? Explain.

Basic Chemistry

Karen C. Timberlake,… 6th Edition

Chapter 4, Problem 45

Instant Answer

Solved by Expert Asami Ehlert

03/18/2022

Step 1

The atomic mass listed on the periodic table for an element is the weighted average of the masses of its naturally occurring isotopes. This means that the atomic mass takes into account the relative abundance of each isotope in nature. Show more…

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Cadmium consists of eight naturally occurring isotopes. Do you expect any of the isotopes to have the atomic mass listed on the periodic table for cadmium? Explain.

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Key Concepts

Isotopic Abundance

Isotopic abundance refers to the percentage or fraction of a given isotope found in a natural sample of an element. In calculating the weighted average atomic mass, each isotope’s mass is multiplied by its abundance, and the sum of these products yields the average atomic mass reported on the periodic table.

Average Atomic Mass

The atomic mass listed on the periodic table is not the mass of any single isotope but rather a weighted average of the masses of all of an element's naturally occurring isotopes. This average reflects the relative abundance of each isotope, ensuring that more common isotopes contribute more to the average.

Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, leading to different atomic masses. While they share chemical properties, their nuclear properties, such as stability and mass, can vary significantly.

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