Concept preview

What you will be able to do

1. 01Interpret mass spectra to identify isotopic composition and relative abundance of elements.
2. 02Calculate average atomic mass using isotopic masses and their natural abundances.
3. 03Explain the role of isotopes in determining atomic mass and the concept of weighted averages.
4. 04Analyse mass spectral data to deduce the presence of isotopes and predict elemental identity.

Mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The mass spectrometer is an instrument that ionizes chemical species and sorts the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio. This allows scientists to determine the isotopic composition of an element. Mass spectrometry provides a graph known as a mass spectrum, where peaks correspond to ions of different masses. The height of each peak is proportional to the abundance of the ion. By analysing these spectra, chemists can deduce the presence and relative abundance of isotopes within a sample, making it an invaluable tool in both qualitative and quantitative analysis of elements.