[lvc]

argon has 3 naturallly occurring isotopes.. argon-36 argon-38 argon-40. Based on aragons reported atomic masss which isotope do you think is the most abundant in nature. Explain


im really confused witht eh whole argon 36 38 and 40 thing
i know the atomic mass of argon is 39.948

[rabolisk]

Do you know how the atomic mass of argon (39.948) is calculated?

Remember that mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons, which can only be an integer. An atom cannot have 0.5 protons, or 0.22 protons, etc. So how is it that the atomic mass of argon is reported as 39.948?

[Borek]

Remember that mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons, which can only be an integer. An atom cannot have 0.5 protons, or 0.22 protons, etc. So how is it that the atomic mass of argon is reported as 39.948?

This is not a good approach. You are ignoring mass deficit. Atomic mass of argon 40 is 39.9624.

But the first part:

Do you know how the atomic mass of argon (39.948) is calculated?

should get the OP to the answer.

[Jorriss]

He seemed right in what he said, he said 'mass number' can only be an integer, not that the calculated value of the mass can't be less than the mass number.

[rabolisk]

When I first posted it, I did not think about mass defect. Soon after, I remembered that I should have considered mass defect, but I decided not to change my post because what I posted was technically correct. The answer to my question wouldn't just be weighted averages but also mass defect.