What does the atomic mass tell you?

Answer 1

The combined amount of protons and neutrons there are in an atom.

That's all. You may have noticed, though, that I did not address electrons. This is because electron mass is negligible (can be ignored) when compared to that of protons and neutrons.

Not because they have half a neutron/proton (:D), but rather because they have isotopes (the same element, with the same charge) with different numbers of neutrons (remember that a neutron has no charge, so more neutrons only means more mass). You may also notice that some elements have decimals in their relative atomic masses.

I hope it's helpful :D.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Cameron Andrews

The atomic mass tells you the average mass of an atom of an element, taking into account the different isotopes of that element and their relative abundance.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

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.