Why is the atomic mass of Magnesium (Mg) not a whole number?
Asked by Niharika L · 2 years ago
I've read that the atomic mass of Magnesium (Mg) is 24.305 u. Why is it not a whole number?
1 Answer
The atomic mass of Magnesium (Mg) is not a whole number because it is a weighted average of the masses of all the naturally occurring isotopes of Magnesium. Magnesium has three stable isotopes: 24Mg, 25Mg, and 26Mg. The atomic mass takes into account the relative abundance of each isotope in nature, leading to a value that is not a whole number.
NEET Faculty · 2 years ago
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