Is it possible to have an atom with mass number equal to the atomic number?

The mass number of an atom is equal to the number of protons plus the number of neutrons that it contains. In other words, the number of neutrons in any atom is its mass number minus its atomic number….

How does an atom get its mass?

Together, the number of protons and the number of neutrons determine an element’s mass number: mass number = protons + neutrons. A property closely related to an atom’s mass number is its atomic mass. The atomic mass of a single atom is simply its total mass and is typically expressed in atomic mass units or amu.

How is it possible for two atoms of an element to have a different mass?

Different isotopes of an element have the same number of protons in the nucleus, giving them the same atomic number, but a different number of neutrons giving each elemental isotope a different atomic weight.

What will happen if atomic mass number is a whole number?

Atomic mass number is a whole number because it is the sum of numbers of protons and numbers of neutrons present in an atom. Which is present in the form of integers.

Is it possible to have an atom with mass number less than atomic number?

The atoms of different elements all have different numbers of protons. An atom’s mass number can never be smaller than its atomic number, and while it can be the same it is normally larger.

Which of the following defines the mass number of an atom?

protons and neutrons
The mass number is defined as the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom.

What part of the atoms that have mass?

nucleus
The majority of an atoms’ mass comes from the protons and neutrons that make up its nucleus. Electrons are the least massive of an atom’s constituent particles, with a mass of 9.11 x 10-31 kg and a size too small to be measured by current techniques.

What is a rule for determining the mass number of an atom?

The number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom can be determined from a set of simple rules. The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom is equal to the atomic number (Z). The mass number of the atom (M) is equal to the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.

Why do the masses of atoms of the same element differ?

Atoms of the same element have the same number of protons, but different isotopes have different numbers of neutrons. Different isotopes of the same element have different masses because they have a different number of neutrons. Mass is the word for how much substance (or matter) something has.

How can atoms of the same element have different mass numbers quizlet?

Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Therefore, isotopes have the same atomic number (number of protons) but a different mass number (number of protons plus number of neutrons).

Why is mass number always a whole number but atomic mass fractional?

The mass number is always a whole number; because it is a count of the particles. It differs from the exact mass of the atom in atomic mass units, amu, which is often known and expressed to six decimal places.

Why are all atomic masses not nearly whole numbers?

Atomic mass is never an integer number for several reasons: The atomic mass reported on a periodic table is the weighted average of all the naturally occuring isotopes. Being an average it would be most unlikely to be a whole number. The mass of an individual atom in atomic mass units is the mass relative to carbon-12.

What is the mass of one atom called?

Atomic mass can be defined as the total mass of one atom of any given element. The unit of atomic mass is called the unified atomic mass unit (denoted by ‘u’). Most of the atomic mass of a substance is made up of protons and neutrons.

How do you find the mass number of an element?

Together, the number of protons and the number of neutrons determine an element’s mass number: mass number = protons + neutrons. If you want to calculate how many neutrons an atom has, you can simply subtract the number of protons, or atomic number, from the mass number. A property closely related to an atom’s mass number is its atomic mass.

What property of an atom is closely related to its mass number?

A property closely related to an atom’s mass number is its atomic mass. The atomic mass of a single atom is simply its total mass and is typically expressed in atomic mass units or amu. By definition, an atom of carbon with six neutrons, carbon-12, has an atomic mass of 12 amu.

What is the formula for relative atomic mass?

For an element relative atomic mass is the average mass of the naturally occurring isotopes of that element relative to the mass of an atom of 12C. Which means one atom is given a relative atomic mass of exactly 12. Atomic mass is not reported with units. The formula for atomic mass is given below. Atomic mass = Mass of protons + Mass