How to use in-sentence of “relative atomic mass”:
– For example, a sample from another planet could have a relative atomic mass very different to the standard Earth-based value.
– Often, the term relative atomic mass is used to mean standard atomic weight.
– Like relative isotopic mass, a relative atomic mass is a ratio with no units.
– This is not quite correct, because relative atomic mass is a less specific term that refers to individual samples.
– We can find the relative atomic mass of a sample of an element by working out the abundance-weighted mean of the relative isotopic masses.
– Individual samples of an element could have a relative atomic mass different to the standard atomic weight for the element.
– Also, “relative” isotopic mass is not the same as isotopic mass, and relative atomic mass is not the same as atomic mass.
– A relative atomic mass is the ratio of the average mass per atom of an element from a given sample to 1/12 the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
