Mass of 1 Atom of Carbon
Carbon is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. The mass of 1 mole of carbon atoms is 12g. Therefore, to find the mass of 1 atom of carbon, we need to use the concept of Avogadro's number.
Avogadro's Number
Avogadro's number is the number of particles in 1 mole of a substance and is equal to 6.022 × 10²³. This number is also known as the Avogadro constant or Avogadro's law.
Calculating the Mass of 1 Atom of Carbon
To calculate the mass of 1 atom of carbon, we need to use the following formula:
Mass of 1 atom of carbon = Mass of 1 mole of carbon atoms / Avogadro's number
Substituting the values, we get:
Mass of 1 atom of carbon = 12g / 6.022 × 10²³
Mass of 1 atom of carbon = 1.99 × 10⁻²³ g
Conclusion
The mass of 1 atom of carbon is 1.99 × 10⁻²³ g. This calculation shows that atoms are incredibly small in size and have a very low mass, which is why Avogadro's number is used to calculate the mass of a large number of atoms or molecules.