Deducing Molecular Formula

Question 1

Each peak in the mass spectrum corresponds to a certain fragment with a particular m/z value
The peak with the highest m/z value is the

Answer 1

molecular ion (M+) peak which gives information about the molecular mass of the compound

Question 2

The molecular ion is the entire molecule that has

Answer 2

lost one electron when bombarded with a beam of electrons

Question 3

The [M+1] peak is a smaller peak which is due to the natural abundance of the isotope carbon-13
The amount of naturally occurring C-13 is a little over 1%, so the [M+1] peak is very small

The height of the [M+1] peak for a particular ion depends on how many carbon atoms are present in that molecule; the more carbon atoms, the larger the [M+1] peak is

For example, the height of the [M+1] peak for an hexane (containing six carbon atoms) ion will be greater than the height of the [M+1] peak of an ethane (containing two carbon atoms) ion