Isotopes and relative atomic masses

• Isotopes are atoms of the same element having

different atomic masses

• For example, there are three isotopes of

hydrogen atom namely hydrogen, deuterium
and tritium

• All have the same atomic number but their mass

numbers differ
 The isotopes of hydrogen
Isotopes of H No. of No. of No. of
electrons protons neutrons
1
1 H hydrogen 1 1 0
2
1 H deuterium 1 1 1
3
1 H tritium 1 1 2
three different isotopes of hydrogen
 Characteristics of isotopes
• Isotopes of the same element have the
same number of protons (and therefore
same number of electrons)

• Isotopes of the same element have

different number of neutrons

• Isotopes of the same element have similar

chemical properties because this is
determined by the electronic structure of
the atom
 The mass spectrometer
• The mass spec (or MS) is used to
determine relative atomic/molecular
masses of atomic/molecular species

• It can differentiate between isotopes of

the same element and give their relative
abundances

• It measures mass/charge (m/e or m/z)

ratio of ionized particles
Mass Spectrometry
 The operation of a MS
There are six important parts in a MS
1. The vaporization chamber
➢ The material to be analyzed (element or
compound) is injected into the chamber and
heated until it vaporizes and changes into the
gaseous form
2. Ionization chamber
➢ The vaporized sample is bombarded with
electrons from a heated filament. Electrons are
knocked off from neutral atoms or molecules.
Positive ions are formed
3. Accelerating electric field
➢ The positive ions formed are accelerated (moves
with a very high speed) by an electric field
towards the magnetic field

4. Deflecting magnetic field

➢ The +ve ions are deflected along a circular path.
➢ The lighter the +ve ion, the greater is the
deflection and the smaller the radius of the
circular path ⇨ mass (m)
➢ The higher the charge of the +ve ions, the
greater the deflection ⇨ charge (e)
➢ Ions with low m/e ratio are deflected more than
those with high m/e
5. Ion detector
➢ The detector converts the m/e ratio into
electric current
➢ The magnitude of the current is proportional
to the number of ions present
6. Recorder
➢ The ions detected are traced out by a recorder
which shows the m/e ratio and corresponding
intensity of the ions.
➢ The position of the peak gives the m/e ratio of
an ion
➢ The height of the peak gives the relative
abundance of the ion (usually in %)
➢ The chart is called a mass spectrum
Typical mass spectra
A typical mass spectrum of chlorine
Interpretation of the MS of Cl
m/e ratio Ions
35 35Cl+

37 37Cl+

70 35Cl- 35Cl+

72 35Cl-37Cl+

74 37Cl-37Cl+
A typical mass spectrum of chlorine
for example,
• Chlorine has two isotopes: 35Cl & 37Cl
• If in a sample of chlorine, 75% is 35Cl, while the
remaining 25% is 37Cl
• The relative atomic mass will be
(75 × 35) + (25 × 37) = 3550
100
3550 = 35.5
100
• The relative atomic mass of chlorine is 35.5
Calculating relative atomic masses
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. `A sample of neon is found to consist of
20Ne, 21Ne, 22Ne in the following percentages

20Ne 90.92%
21Ne 0.26%
22Ne 8.82%
Calculate the relative atomic mass of neon.
Solution
The rel. mass of neon=
(20  90.92) + (21 0.26) + (22  8.82) 2017.9
= = 20.18
90.92 + 0.26 + 8.82 100
Question 2
The relative atomic mass of potassium is
39.1. Calculate the relative abundances of
its two isotopes, 39K and 41K in a sample of
potassium
 Σ ( mass of each isotope × its rel. abundance )
R.a.m =
Σ ( relative abundances of all isotopes )
Let the rel. abundance of 39K be x and 41K be y
.
39 x + 41y .
x=
1.9 y
= 19 y
39.1 =
x+ y 0.1
39.1( x + y ) = 39 x + 41y but x + y = 100
39.1x + 39.1y = 39 x + 41y 19 y + y = 100
20 y = 100
39.1x − 39 x = 41y − 39.1y y =5
0.1x = 1.9 y If y = 5, then x = 95
 Mass defect

• It has been observed that the mass of a nucleus of

an atom is always less than the sum of the masses
of the protons and neutrons it contains

• The difference between the actual mass and the

observed mass is referred to as mass defect (∆m)

• This is due to the effect of the binding energy that

the nucleons exert towards one another
 Mass defect and Nuclear Binding
energy

∆m = {(mass of p ×no. of p)+(mass of n ×no. of n)} – {actual

mass of the nucleus}
 Example
• Find the mass defect of a nucleus if the
actual mass of 63Cu is 62.91367 amu.
Solution:
• The atomic number of Cu is 29,
• therefore the number of protons (p) is 29
• number of neutrons (n) in 63Cu is 63 – 29 = 34
(Recall that the mass of proton is 1.00728 amu
and mass of neutron is 1.00867 amu)
m = (1.00728  29 ) + (1.00867  34 )  amu − 62.91367  amu
= 0.59223amu
 NUCLEAR BINDING ENERGY (EB)
• This is the energy required to breakdown a
nucleus into its components (nucleons)
• It is expressed in Joules per nucleus
• It is given by the formula: EB= ∆mc2
• where ∆m is the mass defect in kg
(1 amu = 1.6606×10-27 kg)
c is the velocity of light =3.0×108 m/s
• For 63Cu with ∆m=0.59223, EB is equal to:

( 0.592231.6606 10 −27

) kg ( 3.0 10 )
8 2
m2 s −2
−11 2 −2
= 8.839 10 J (kgm s  J )
 Exercise
• Calculate the mass defect and the nuclear
binding energies of the following nuclides:
NUCLIDE ATOMIC NO ACTUAL
ATOMIC
MASS
(amu)
U-238 92 238.050784
Ni-58 28 57.935346
O-16 8 15.994915
 The electronic structure of the atom
• The electronic structure is a description of the
arrangement and distribution of the electrons around
the nucleus of an atom
• Different models were postulated to account for the
actual position of the electrons around the nucleus
of an atom
❖ Stationary model: electrons cannot be stationary ⇨ they would
be pulled into the positively charged nucleus

❖Continuous motion model: If they were to continue moving in a

circular orbit, they would radiate energy and slow down
continuously until they spiral into the nucleus
 Electrons & light: Spectral analysis
• When an electrical discharge is passed
through a gas at low pressure in a CRT, an
electromagnetic radiation is produced
• An electromagnetic radiation is Energy that
travels as a wave through space
• It is observed as a spectrum consisting of
narrow lines of bright colours. This is
referred to as a ‘Line spectrum’ (Can be seen
when passed through a prism)
• Each line corresponds to light of a specific
wavelength
➢ Each element (gas) gives its own (characteristic) line
spectrum i.e. every element has a unique pattern
(colours)
➢ WHEN AN ELECTRON ABSORBS ENERGY, IT
GIVES OFF LIGHT
 Electromagnetic radiations
• They consist of waves which have
electrical and magnetic properties
• A wave conveys energy from a vibrating
object (source) to a distant place
• Waves are characterized by wavelength
( λ) and frequency (ν)
• λ is measured in (Å)angstrom or
nanometers
1 Å = 0.1nm (1nm = 1x10-9m)
• ν is measured in Hertz (Hz)
 Why did electrons emit energy as light
of only certain wavelength?
• Atoms of a particular element could only
radiate energy within certain definite values
because
1. Electron moves in a certain allowed orbit around the
central nucleus
2. A definite amount of energy (quantum) is associated
with the electron in each allowed orbit (i.e. the
electronic energy is quantized)
3. The electron does not radiate (lose) energy when it
is in these orbits
4. These orbits are arranged around the nucleus in
increasing order of energy
5. The electron only radiates energy when it undergoes
transition from one orbit to another of a lower
energy
 Bohr’s theory & Planck’s hypothesis
• Max Planck was the one who suggested the theory of
quantization of energy ⇨ Quantum Chemistry
• This theory suggests that electromagnetic
radiation consists of minute packets of energy
called photons (or quanta)
• Niel Bohr’s theory states that in the atom, electrons exist
in quantum energy levels (n levels)
• Electrons have the lowest energy when closest to the
nucleus
• Under resting conditions, the electrons are in the lowest
possible energy level called ground state
• The allowed energy states associated with
individual electrons in an atom can be described
by a set of quantum numbers
 Bohr’s Model

Nucleus

Electron

Orbit

Energy Levels
• When an electron moves from one energy level
to the other, it absorbs or emits energy
• The difference in energy between the two
energy level is given by:
ΔE = hν
(where ΔE = Efinal state- Einitial state )
h is the Planck’s constant 6.626 x10 -34 Js
ν is the frequency of the emitted radiation

• The lowest electronic energy state is called the

ground state
• Any state with greater energy than the ground
state is called the excited state