Why is the mass of a carbon atom 1 12?

This is used because of its accuracy . The atomic mass unit should be accurate and precise . No other number is better than 1.00 g and hence carbon is chosen and 1/12 th of carbon is chosen .

Why do we use carbon-12 as a standard?

Carbon-12 is the standard while measuring the atomic masses. Because no other nuclides other than carbon-12 have exactly whole-number masses in this scale.

Why is the mass of a carbon-12 atom reported as 12.011 on the periodic table of the elements?

Although carbon‐12 weighs exactly 12 amu, the periodic table reports that the mass is 12.011 because we are taking into consideration the abundances and masses of the other two carbon isotopes (carbon‐13 and carbon‐ 14).

What is the mass of 1 atom of carbon-12?

The mass of a single atom of Carbon 12 is simply the mass of a mole of the stuff (12 grams) divided by Avogadro’s number (6.022 x ). That works out to 1.9927 x grams.

What is the mass of 1 carbon-12 atom in grams?

1.992×10−23 gm.

What is the mass of a carbon-12 atom?

Why is 12.011 an important number for carbon?

All the masses of the elements are determined relative to 12C. Since many elements have a number of isotopes, chemists use average atomic mass. On the periodic table the mass of carbon is reported as 12.011 amu. From the information collected from the mass spectrometer the average mass of a carbon atom is calculated.

Why was initially 1/16 of the mass of oxygen taken as the unit?

Initially, 1/16th of the mass of naturally occurring oxygen was taken as the atomic mass unit because this unit gave masses of most of the elements as whole numbers.

What term means the mass equal to one-twelfth the mass of a carbon atom with six protons and six neutrons?

o One atomic mass unit is defined as a mass exactly equal to one-twelfth the mass of one carbon-12 atom. Carbon-12 is the carbon isotope that has six protons and six neutrons.

How do you find the mass of carbon-12?

To find the average atomic mass, you take a certain number of atoms, find the total mass of each isotope, and then divide the total mass of all the atoms by the total number of atoms. Assume that you have, say, 10 000 atoms of carbon. Then you have 9893 atoms of 12C and 107 atoms of 13C .