Refer to Figure 2.10 showing a schematic illustration of a mass spectrometer. (b) Compare two ions with a +1 charge traveling through the curved, evacuated tube in the mass spectrometer. Will a heavier ion or lighter ion be deflected to a greater degree by the magnetic field?

Video transcript

Hi everyone here. We have a question asking us to determine if the following statement about a mass spectrometer is true or false, heavier ions are deflected to a greater extent than lighter ions. So in a mass spectrometer we have a tube and we put a vaporized sample in here and here is where ionization occurs. And our sample will go through here and it will go through an electro magnet and this is where deflection occurs. So the lighter ions are going to be deflected to a greater extent. So we'll have our lighter ions deflected to a greater extent and are heavier ions and then we'll end up with one focused beam, which will then be detected and produce a peak. So this statement is false. Lighter ions are deflected to a greater extent. Thank you for watching. Bye.