Question

Suppose you identify a new element, Interactium. Interactium has three isotopes: Interactium-282, Interactium-290, and Interactium-291. In the mixture, 29% of the mixture is Interactium-282, 39% is Interactium-290, and the rest of the mixture is Interactium-291.What is the relative atomic mass for Interactium?

Answer 1

To calculate the atomic mass of any chemical element, use the following mathematical steps:

Step 1: multiply the mass number of each isotope by its percentage.

Step 2: sum all the results found in the first step.

Step 3: divide the sum found in the second step by 100.

Step 1:

Interactium-282: 282 x 29 = 8,178

Interactium-290: 290 x 39 = 11,310

For interactium-291 we need to calculate the percentage: 100 - 39 - 29 = 32%

Interactium-291: 291 x 32 = 9,312

Step 2: sum

8,178 + 11,310 + 9,312 = 28,800

Step 3:

28,800/100 = 288

Answer: The relative atomic mass is 288u.