The atomic mass of an element is the weighted average of what?

Answer 1

...Of the mass of the individual isotopes.

Most elements have a number of isotopes; i.e. elements with common #Z" (the number of nuclear protons")#, but different numbers of neutrons, massive nuclear particles. Of course #Z# defines the identity of the element.

Even for hydrogen (#Z=1#) there are several isotopes available and routinely utilized: #""^1H#, protium; #""^2H#, deuterium;#""^3H#, trittium. For all these isotopes, #Z=1#, but there are #0,1,2# neutrons in the nucleus. The weighted average of the masses of the isotopes is the atomic mass reported on the Periodic Table.

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Answer 2

Wyatt Atkins

The weighted average of an element's isotope masses, taking into account their abundance, is its atomic mass.

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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.