Mass Spectrometry

Question 1

Vaporisation

Answer 1

A sample is inserted into the mass spectrometer and becomes vaporised

Question 2

Ionisation

Answer 2

The sample becomes positively charged

Question 3

Acceleration

Answer 3

The positively charged particle become accelerated within an electric field

Question 4

Separation

Answer 4

The positively charged particles are deflected by an electromagnet (magnetic field). The amount of detection that occurs is dependent on their mass

Question 5

Detection

Answer 5

Deflected particles hit the detection screen, this signal is then amplified by an amplifier and recorded using a chart called a mass spectrum.

Question 6

The principle of mass spectrometry

Answer 6

charged particles moving in a magnetic field are deflected to different extents according to their masses and separated according to their masses.

Question 7

Relative atomic mass

Answer 7

-the average of the mass numbers of the isotopes of the element
-as they occur naturally
-taking their abundances into account
-and expressed on a scale in which the atoms of the carbon-12 isotope have a mass of exactly 12 units