Sketch the mass spectrum of magnesium given its three naturally occurring isotopes with the following masses and natural abundances: Isotope Mass (amu) Abundance (%) - Mg-24: 23.9850, 78.99% - Mg-25: 24.9858, 10.00% - Mg-26: 25.9826, 11.01%.

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the isotopes of magnesium and their respective masses and abundances: Mg-24 (23.9850 amu, 78.99%), Mg-25 (24.9858 amu, 10.00%), Mg-26 (25.9826 amu, 11.01%).
2. Understand that a mass spectrum displays the relative abundance of each isotope as a function of its mass-to-charge ratio (m/z), which in this case is equivalent to the mass of the isotope since the charge is +1.
3. On the x-axis of the mass spectrum, plot the mass of each isotope: 23.9850, 24.9858, and 25.9826.
4. On the y-axis, plot the relative abundance of each isotope. Convert the percentage abundances to a scale where the most abundant isotope (Mg-24) is set to 100. This means Mg-24 will be at 100, Mg-25 at (10.00/78.99)*100, and Mg-26 at (11.01/78.99)*100.
5. Draw vertical lines (peaks) at each mass value on the x-axis, with the height of each peak corresponding to the relative abundance calculated in the previous step.

Key Concepts

Isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, resulting in different atomic masses. For magnesium, the isotopes Mg-24, Mg-25, and Mg-26 have distinct masses and natural abundances, which are crucial for understanding their contributions to the element's average atomic mass and behavior in mass spectrometry.

Mass Spectrum

A mass spectrum is a graphical representation of the mass-to-charge ratio of ions, typically used to identify the composition of a sample. In the context of magnesium, the mass spectrum will display peaks corresponding to each isotope, with the height of each peak reflecting the relative abundance of that isotope in the sample.

Relative Abundance

Relative abundance refers to the proportion of each isotope of an element present in a natural sample, expressed as a percentage. For magnesium, the isotopes have specific abundances (e.g., Mg-24 at 78.99%), which are essential for calculating the weighted average mass of the element and for accurately sketching the mass spectrum.