Answer:
C. 100.7 amu
Explanation:
Isotopes of an element are atoms of an element with the same atomic number but different atomic masses. Each atomic mass of an isotope is known as an isotopic mass. An element that exhibits isotope, that is, that have two or more isotopes has a relative atomic mass that is not a whole number.
Relative atomic mass of X is the sum of the products of the relative abundances of each isotope and its isotopic mass.
For Isotope ¹⁰⁰X: 30% × 100 = 30 amu
For Isotope ¹⁰¹X: 70% × 101 = 70.7 amu
Relative atomic mass of X = (30 + 70.7) amu = 100.7 amu
Therefore, the approximate atomic mass of X is 100.7 amu
Taking into account the definition of mass number, isotopes and atomic mass of an element, the average mass of hypothetical element X is 100.7.
First of all, all atoms are made up of subatomic particles: protons and neutrons, which are part of their nucleus, and electrons, which revolve around them. Protons are positively charged, neutrons are neutrally charged, and electrons are negatively charged (electrons).
On the other hand, the mass number tells us the total number of particles in the nucleus. That is, the mass number is the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons in the atomic nucleus.
The same chemical element can be made up of different atoms, that is, their atomic numbers are the same, but the number of neutrons is different. These atoms are called isotopes of the element.
Finally, the atomic mass of an element is the weighted average mass of its natural isotopes.
In other words, the atomic masses of chemical elements are usually calculated as the weighted average of the masses of the different isotopes of each element, taking into account the relative abundance of each of them.
In this case, two isotopes of hypothetical element X exist with abundances of 30.00% 100-X (the atomic mass is 100) and 70.00% 101-X (the atomic mass is 101). Then, the average mass of X can be calculated as:
100×0.30 + 101×0.70= 100.7
Finally, the average mass of hypothetical element X is 100.7.
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