it is not strictly true to say that elements consist of one type of atom.
Natural samples of elements are often a mixture of isotopes. About 1% of natural carbon – 13
12C6 99% 1%13C6
Relative atomic mass
RAM – (AR)
12C6 - 12 is the relative atomic mass
The deflection in the mass spectrum varies with the mass of the atom.
However this does not tell us the mass in grams.
What it tells us is the relative masses of atoms – or relative atomic mass RAM
The element carbon is the atom against which the mass of all other atoms are compared. Carbon is given a RAM value of 12
Calculating RAM of isotopes
Many natural elements are a mixture of isotopes
This means that when we react atoms of an element we are using a mixure of atoms with different mass numbers
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