Lab 2B: Atomic Mass of Candium

Candium's three isotopes - M&Ms!

The purpose of this lab was to plan and implement a procedure to determine the average atomic mass of the element candium, given a random sample of three different isotopes of the element: regular M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, and pretzel M&Ms.

Average atomic mass: 1.43 g

1.  Ask a group nearby what their average atomic mass was.  Why would your average atomic mass be different than theirs?

Another group's calculated atomic mass was 1.52 g.  Ours is different because each group received different amounts of isotopes (type of M&M) and different total amount and weight.  The sample sizes were also not very big, leading to more variation.

2.  If larger samples of candium were used, would the differences between your average atomic mass and others' average atomic masses be bigger or smaller?

The differences would be smaller, because the larger the sample, the closer the calculated masses will be to the average value as a result of less variation.

3.  If you took any piece of candium from your sample and placed it on the balance, would it have the exact average atomic mass that you calculated?  Why or why not?

No, because the calculated atomic mass is just an average and isn't necessarily the same value, but should be close.  It would be extremely rare for a random candium sample to be exactly the same as the average atomic mass.

4.  Periodic table square for candium!