Question

Click on the site and select the "Mix Isotopes" tab, hide the "Percent Composition" and "Average Atomic Mass" boxes, and then select the element boron.

a) _________ Done

b) _________ Not done

c) _________ In progress

d) _________ Skipped

Answer 1

Boron naturally occurs as two isotopes, ¹⁰B and ¹¹B, with natural abundances of about 19.9% and 80.1% respectively.

Using the PhET simulation, students can mix these isotopes to explore the concept of average atomic mass.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two isotopes of boron that are naturally occurring in significant amounts are ¹⁰B and ¹¹B. Boron-10 (¹⁰B) makes up about 19.9% of all boron atoms with a mass of 10.0129 amu, while boron-11 (¹¹B) comprises the remaining 80.1% with a mass of 11.0093 amu.

When using the Isotopes and Atomic Mass simulation, one can predict and mix these isotopes to understand how the average atomic mass of boron is calculated.

The expected average atomic mass of boron can be found by taking into account these percentages and the respective masses of boron isotopes.