Unit 1 · Atomic Structure and Properties
Chapter 1.1
Counting Atoms by Weighing: Moles, Molar Mass, and Mass Spectra
A gram of hydrogen holds more atoms than there are grains of sand on Earth, yet a balance counts them for you. The trick is knowing exactly how much one atom weighs, and a mass spectrometer tells you.
lesson 1 of 45
By the end
- 01Convert among mass, moles, and particle count with Avogadro's number and molar mass
- 02Explain why the molar mass in grams matches the average particle mass in amu
- 03Read an element's mass spectrum to identify isotopes and their abundances
- 04Compute an average atomic mass as an abundance-weighted mean of isotope masses