Wednesday, July 13, 2011

How is it possible that atomic weights are slightly higher than double the atomic number?

Each element contains a different amount of isotopes which result in those differences in mass. Isotopes are forms of an element that have the same number of protons, but varying numbers of neutrons which account for those differences.. Since naturally occurring elements consist of a mixture of various isotopes, the mass of the element does not match to a whole number.

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