Purpose: The purpose of this lab was to try and find the average atomic mass of an "element" Candium. Candium has three "isotopes": regular, peanut, and pretzel m&ms. This helped us understand what the atomic number of an element really means and how to apply it when learning the different isotopes of an element.
Average Atomic Mass of Candium: 1.52 grams.
1. Ask a group nearby what their average atomic mass was. Why would your average atomic mass be different than theirs?
We may have a different abundance of different isotopes. For example we had more m&ms with a larger mass than they did, so our average atomic mass went up. The abundance of each isotope affects the average atomic mass of an element.
2. If larger samples of candium were used, would the differences between your average atomic mass and others' average atomic masses be bigger or smaller? Defend your answer.
The differences would become smaller. As the sample increases, our abundances of each isotope is more likely to become closer together. Therefore our all of the average atomic masses become more accurate and closer to each other.
3. If you rook any piece of Candium from your sample and placed it on the balance, would it have the exact average atomic mss that you calculated?
No. The average atomic mass will not match the exact mass of any piece of candium. Since Average atomic mass is an average, it will be slightly higher or lower than any given isotope.
4. Here is the element square for candium!
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