Topic 1 Flashcards
What is the structure of an atom?
A nucleus containing protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons in electron shells.
What are the relative mass and charges of protons, neutrons and electrons?
What is an atomic number and Mass number?
Atomic / Proton number - Amount of Protons OR Electrons
Mass Number = Amount of Protons AND Electrons
How to find the number of each subatomic particle
12 - 6 = 6 Neutrons
6 = 6 Protons
6 = 6 Electrons
What are isotopes?
Isotopes are atoms of the same element but different numbers of neutrons.\
- Same chemical properties ← same electron configuration
- Different Physical Properties ← different isotopic mass
What is relative isotopic mass?
Mass of an atom of an isotope compared to 1/12th of a carbon atom
What is relative atomic mass?
Ar is the weighted mean mass of an atom of an element compared to 1/12th of a carbon atom
(We use carbon because of the mass of carbon is 12)
How do you calculate Ar from isotopic abundances?
- Multiply each isotopic abundance with the isotopic mass
- Add up all the results
- Divide by 100
What is a Mass Spectrometer?
Devices that find out what samples are made up of by measuring their masses
How does a mass spectrometer work?
Ions are sent at a high speed and are deflected and depending where they are detected on the electromagnet you are able to see the mass as
A moving force will be deflected if a force of a higher strength makes contact in another direction
What is step 0 in mass spec?
Step 0 - Preparation
- Samples must be vaporised to be GASEOUS
- Mass spec must be in a Vacuum to avoid collision with air molecules
What is step 1 is mass spec
Step 1 - Ionisation
- Electrons are knocked off the atoms using a electron gun
- This then turns the atom into a ion
Example H(g)→ H(g)+
What is step 2 in mass spec
Step 2 - Acceleration
- Positively charged plates launch the ions
- Negatively charged plates then accelerate the ions
- This is done to ensure all ions have the same kinetic energy
All this is done in an electric field
What is step 3 in mass spec
Stage 3 - Deflection
- A Magnetic field then deflects the ions
- Separation of ions occur because the more charged an ion is the more its deflected
What is step 4 in mass spec?
Stage 4 - Detection
- The beams of electrons are then detected electronically
- This is recorded through Mass charge ratio (M/z)