BRAINCAKEThe Mass Spectrometer
A mass spectrometer can be used to experimentally measure the percentage abundances of isotopes in a sample of an element.
This can be used to calculate the relative atomic mass of an element.
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Key terms in this lesson
- Isotopes
- Atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
- Relative isotopic mass
- The mass of an isotope of an element compared to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
- Relative atomic mass
- The weighted mean mass of an atom of an element compared to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
More in Atomic Structure
- Isotopes
- Isotopes of Carbon
- Electrons
- Electron Shells
- Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer
- Mass Spectra of Elements
- Low Resolution Mass Spectrometry
- Mass Spectrometer in Space
All 22 lessons in Atomic Structure · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics