calculate the atomic mass of sulfur if the four common isotopes of sulfur have masses of 31.972 amu (95.00% abundance), 32.971 amu (0.76%), 33.967 amu (4.22%), and 35.967 amu (0.014%)

1 answer

To calculate the atomic mass of sulfur based on the given isotopes and their respective abundances, we can use the formula:

\[ \text{Atomic Mass} = \sum (\text{isotope mass} \times \text{fractional abundance}) \]

We'll first convert the percentages of abundance into fractional form by dividing by 100:

  • For the first isotope (31.972 amu) with 95.00% abundance, the fractional abundance is \(0.9500\).
  • For the second isotope (32.971 amu) with 0.76% abundance, the fractional abundance is \(0.0076\).
  • For the third isotope (33.967 amu) with 4.22% abundance, the fractional abundance is \(0.0422\).
  • For the fourth isotope (35.967 amu) with 0.014% abundance, the fractional abundance is \(0.00014\).

Now we calculate the contribution of each isotope to the atomic mass:

  1. \(31.972 , \text{amu} \times 0.9500 = 30.3734 , \text{amu}\)
  2. \(32.971 , \text{amu} \times 0.0076 = 0.2506 , \text{amu}\)
  3. \(33.967 , \text{amu} \times 0.0422 = 1.4325 , \text{amu}\)
  4. \(35.967 , \text{amu} \times 0.00014 = 0.005036 , \text{amu}\)

Now, we sum these contributions:

\[ \text{Atomic Mass} = 30.3734 + 0.2506 + 1.4325 + 0.005036 \]

Calculating the sum:

\[ \text{Atomic Mass} = 32.061536 , \text{amu} \]

Rounding to appropriate significant figures, the atomic mass of sulfur is approximately:

\[ \text{Atomic Mass} \approx 32.06 , \text{amu} \]