1. The atomic mass of an element is
A. the sum of the protons and neutrons in one atom of the element.**
B. twice the number of protons in one atom of the element.
C. a ration based on the mass of a carbon-12 atom
D. a weighted average of the masses of an element's isotopes
D is the best asnwer.
I believe so to, A, and D both seem right to me.
Nope, think about D and you know why A is wrong.
the correct answer is D. I took a test and scored a 5/5 100%. Thanks to the people who said it was D.
Atomic mass of an element is the sum of number of -------- and ------. *
To determine the correct answer, we need to understand what atomic mass is and how it is calculated.
Atomic mass refers to the mass of an atom of a specific element. It is typically expressed in atomic mass units (amu). Protons and neutrons contribute to the mass of an atom, while electrons have negligible mass compared to them.
Now let's examine the options:
A. the sum of the protons and neutrons in one atom of the element.
This option correctly identifies that the atomic mass is the sum of protons and neutrons in an atom. Protons and neutrons have similar masses, so this option is most likely correct.
B. twice the number of protons in one atom of the element.
This option is incorrect. The atomic mass is not directly related to the number of protons.
C. a ratio based on the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
This option is incorrect. While the atomic mass scale is indeed based on the mass of a carbon-12 atom (assigned a mass of exactly 12 amu), this does not fully define atomic mass itself.
D. a weighted average of the masses of an element's isotopes.
This option correctly describes the concept of atomic mass. Elements can have multiple isotopes, which are atoms with different numbers of neutrons. The atomic mass takes into account the proportions and masses of each isotope in the naturally occurring sample to calculate a weighted average.
Therefore, the correct answer to the question is option D: a weighted average of the masses of an element's isotopes.