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Silver has only two naturally occurring isotopes. Silver-107 is 50.50% abundant and has an isotopic mass of 106.90 amu. Determine the mass of the other isotope reported to the tenths place.

a) 105.4 amu
b) 107.4 amu
c) 108.9 amu
d) 109.0 amu

User Baudtack
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Final answer:

The mass of the second isotope of silver is 108.9 amu, calculated using the atomic mass of the first isotope and the average atomic mass of silver.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mass of the other isotope of silver can be determined by understanding that the atomic masses of isotopes and their relative abundances add up to the weighted average atomic mass of the element. Since silver has two isotopes, we can use the given abundance and mass of Ag-107 to calculate the mass of the other isotope.

Because silver's atomic mass is approximately 107.87 amu, and Ag-107 has a mass of 106.90 amu with an abundance of 50.50%, we can set up the equation to solve for the mass of the other isotope, let's call it “X” (which represents the atomic mass of the unknown isotope):

106.90 amu × 50.50% + X × 49.50% = 107.87 amu

By simplifying and solving for X:

X = ((107.87 amu – (106.90 amu × 50.50%)) / 49.50%) = 108.9 amu

Therefore, the mass of the other isotope of silver is approximately 108.9 amu.

User Uriel Frankel
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