Answer :
Final answer:
The atomic mass of chlorine (35.5 amu) is a weighted average of the masses of its isotopes (Cl-35 and Cl-37). The percentage of the heavier isotope Cl-37, we solve for its abundance in the isotopic mixture which gives us 24%.
Explanation:
The atomic mass of an element is the weighted average of the atomic masses of its naturally occurring isotopes. In the case of chlorine, its atomic mass is 35.5 amu, and it has two isotopes: Cl-35 and Cl-37. To find the percentage of the heavier isotope (Cl-37), we use the fact that the atomic mass is a weighted average of the isotopic masses, and we solve for the percentage abundance of the Cl-37 isotope.
Let x be the fraction of Cl-37 containing Chlorine. Since there are only two isotopes of chlorine, the fraction of Cl-35 will be 1 - x.
We equate the given atomic mass to the calculated weighted average: 35.5 = 35*(1 - x) + 37*x. This gives us x ≈ 0.24 or 24%.
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