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10th grade Average atomic mass from isotopes worksheet

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Average atomic mass from isotopes

Grade 10 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

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Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. Gallium is 60.108% gallium-69 (68.926 u); the rest is gallium-71 (70.925 u) (NIST). What is gallium's average atomic mass, to 0.01 u, Ari?

  2. Bromine is 50.69% bromine-79 (78.918 u); the rest is bromine-81 (80.916 u) (NIST). What is bromine's average atomic mass, to 0.01 u, Bo?

  3. Lithium is 7.59% lithium-6 (6.015 u); the rest is lithium-7 (7.016 u) (NIST). What is lithium's average atomic mass, to 0.01 u, Esme?

  4. Read this first

    Chlorine's isotopes (NIST: IUPAC 2009 abundances, AME2012 masses)

    isotopeprotonsneutronsmass (u)abundance (%)
    chlorine-35171834.96975.76
    chlorine-37172036.96624.24
  5. Using the table, which chlorine isotope is more common, Kira?

    • They are equally common
    • Chlorine-37
    • Chlorine-35
  6. Using the table, about what is chlorine's average atomic mass, Luz?

    • About 35.45 u
    • About 35.97 u
    • About 36.97 u
  7. What makes two atoms isotopes of the same element, Milo?

    • Same mass, different charge
    • Different protons, same neutrons
    • Same protons, different neutrons
  8. Lithium-6 and lithium-7 both have 3 protons. How do they differ, Noah?

    • Lithium-7 has one more neutron
    • Lithium-7 has one more proton
    • Lithium-7 has a charge
  9. Why is chlorine's atomic mass 35.45 and not a whole number, Ren?

    • Its protons weigh 0.45 u extra
    • It averages two isotopes
    • It was measured badly
  10. What does the atomic mass on the periodic table describe, Tala?

    • A weighted average of natural isotopes
    • The number of neutrons
    • The mass of its heaviest natural isotope
  11. Lithium's average atomic mass is 6.94. Which isotope is more common, Zee?

    • Lithium-6
    • Lithium-7
    • Both are equal
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10th grade Average atomic mass from isotopes worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Average atomic mass from isotopes. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can find an element's average atomic mass as a weighted average of its isotopes, for two or three isotopes.
  • I can work back from an average to an isotope's abundance.
  • I can explain why table masses aren't whole numbers and lean toward the most common isotope.
  • I can do half-life steps and simple carbon-14 dating (half-life about 5,700 years).

Standard: none (TX)

Words to know

isotope: Atoms of one element with different numbers of neutrons

abundance: The percent of an element's atoms that are one isotope

weighted average: An average that counts each value by how common it is

atomic mass unit (u): One-twelfth of a carbon-12 atom's mass

half-life: The time for half of a radioactive isotope's atoms to change

Common mistakes

Your child took a plain average. Isotopes aren't equally common, so weight each mass by its abundance.

Your child found the heavier isotope's percent. The question asks for the lighter one: (heavier mass − average) ÷ (mass gap) × 100.

Your child thought isotopes have different numbers of protons. Isotopes of one element have the same protons and different neutrons.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with average atomic mass from isotopes?

Your child took a plain average. Isotopes aren't equally common, so weight each mass by its abundance.

Are these 10th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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