Final answer:
To find sulfur's average atomic mass, each isotope's mass is multiplied by its decimal abundance and added together, resulting in an average atomic mass of 32.1356 amu.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the average atomic mass of sulfur given the percentage abundance and mass of its isotopes, we use a weighted average. First, convert the percentage abundance of each isotope into a decimal by dividing by 100, then multiply each by the mass number of that isotope. Finally, sum these products to determine the average atomic mass.
- ((92.00% / 100) × 32) + ((1.76% / 100) × 33) + ((6.22% / 100) × 34)
- (0.9200 × 32) + (0.0176 × 33) + (0.0622 × 34)
- (29.44) + (0.5808) + (2.1148)
- The average atomic mass of sulfur = 32.1356 amu