Briefly describe (a) the law of conservation of mass (b) Rutherford's nuclear atom (c) weighted-average atomic mass (d) a mass spectrum

Short Answer

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(a) The law of conservation of mass states that matter cannot be created nor destroyed in an isolated system. (b) Rutherford's nuclear atom model describes an atom with a centralized nucleus and electrons orbiting around it. (c) The weighted-average atomic mass is calculated by taking into account the relative abundance of different isotopes of an element. (d) A mass spectrum is a graph representing the distribution of ions by their mass-to-charge ratio.

Step by step solution

01

Define the Law of Conservation of Mass

The law of conservation of mass states that matter cannot be created nor destroyed in an isolated system. In other words, the total amount of mass remains constant in any system that does not have matter or energy added or removed.
02

Explain Rutherford's Nuclear Atom

Rutherford's nuclear atom concept refers to a model in which an atom's mass and positive charge are concentrated in a central core, called the nucleus. The rest of the atom is mostly empty space, with electrons orbiting around the nucleus.
03

Detail the Weighted-Average Atomic Mass

The weighted-average atomic mass is a calculation method that takes into account the relative abundance of different isotopes of an element. It is calculated by multiplying the atomic mass of each isotope by its relative abundance (in decimal form), and then summing these values.
04

Describe a Mass Spectrum

A mass spectrum is a graph that represents the distribution of ions by their mass-to-charge ratio. It is usually obtained using a mass spectrometer and the information derived from it can give insights into the elemental composition and structural information of a sample.

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