Whether sum of weight of proton and neutron is equal to atomic mass?

In summary, the equation for finding atomic mass is atomic mass = mass a x fraction a + mass b x fraction b, and the equation for finding atomic weight is weight of proton + weight of neutron = atomic mass. However, both of these equations cannot be correct at the same time as they are referring to different aspects of atomic structure. The correct method for finding atomic weight is to take into account the mass deficit caused by the strong binding energy between protons and neutrons within the nucleus.
  • #1
newbe
2
0
Dear friend,
I am getting confused in this question;what i learned till now is that number of proton+number of neutron=atomic mass. But while searching the net i got this equation
atomic mass = mass a x fract a + mass b x fract b. can anyone tell me which is the correct (not approximate) method for finding atomic weight.

and my second question

is weight of proton+weight of neutron= atomic mass is this equation correct

advance thanks for your help
 
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  • #2
newbe said:
number of proton+number of neutron=atomic mass

weight of proton+weight of neutron= atomic mass

Apparently both these equations can't be right at the same time, number of objects and weight of objects are not the same thing.

Mass of the nucleus equals mass of the neutrons plus mass of the protons MINUS binding energy.

Neutrons and protons hold very strong to each other in nucleus. When you take several separated neutrons and several protons and you fuse them into a nucleus a lot of energy is emitted (that's where the energy in stars and hydrogen bombs comes from). You have probably heard about Einstein equation E=mc2 - it means energy is equivalent to mass. When the energy is emitted, mass of the remaining nucleus is smaller than the sum of masses of protons and neutrons, this missing mass is called "mass deficit" or "binding energy".
 

1. What is the atomic mass of an atom?

The atomic mass of an atom is the total mass of all its protons, neutrons, and electrons. It is usually expressed in atomic mass units (amu) or in grams.

2. How is the atomic mass of an element determined?

The atomic mass of an element is determined by calculating the weighted average of the masses of all the naturally occurring isotopes of that element.

3. Is the sum of the weight of a proton and neutron equal to the atomic mass?

No, the sum of the weight of a proton and neutron is not equal to the atomic mass. The atomic mass of an element also takes into account the mass of electrons, which is much smaller compared to protons and neutrons.

4. How do protons and neutrons contribute to the atomic mass?

Protons and neutrons contribute to the atomic mass by their individual masses. A proton has a mass of approximately 1 amu, while a neutron has a mass of approximately 1 amu. The number of protons and neutrons in an atom also affects its atomic mass.

5. Why is the atomic mass sometimes not a whole number?

The atomic mass is sometimes not a whole number because it is the weighted average of all the naturally occurring isotopes of an element. Isotopes of an element have different numbers of neutrons, which affects the overall atomic mass. This results in decimal numbers for atomic mass.

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