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Elemental chlorine consists mainly of two isotopes: #""^35Cl# of #75%# abundance; and #""^37Cl#... What is the average atomic mass of chlorine?

Answer 1

Serenity Allen

About #35.5*"amu"#

Atomic mass is the weighted average of the individual isotopes.

And thus average atomic mass is given by the expression:

#(0.75xx35(""^35Cl) +0.25xx37(""^37Cl))*"amu"=#

#35.5*"amu"#

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Answer 2

Serenity Allen

The average atomic mass of chlorine can be calculated using the isotopic abundances and masses of its isotopes. For chlorine:

Average atomic mass = (isotopic mass of ^35Cl * abundance of ^35Cl) + (isotopic mass of ^37Cl * abundance of ^37Cl)

= (34.9689 amu * 0.75) + (36.9659 amu * 0.25)

= 26.2267 amu + 9.2415 amu

= 35.4682 amu

Therefore, the average atomic mass of chlorine is approximately 35.4682 atomic mass units (amu).

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.