Chemistry
Chemistry
Problem
The mass spectrum of an element X shows three peaks at , , and with relative peak heights of 100, 15, and 20 units, respectively. List the three isotopes in order from most abundant to least abundant.Intuitive explanation
Mass spectra reveal the isotopic composition of an element by showing how many atoms have each mass number. The peak heights tell you the relative abundance of each isotope—taller peaks mean more atoms of that mass. Since the peaks correspond to different mass numbers, you're looking at different isotopes of the same element, and you just need to rank them by their peak heights to find the abundance order.
Intuitive explanation
Mass spectra reveal the isotopic composition of an element by showing how many atoms have each mass number. The peak heights tell you the relative abundance of each isotope—taller peaks mean more atoms of that mass. Since the peaks correspond to different mass numbers, you're looking at different isotopes of the same element, and you just need to rank them by their peak heights to find the abundance order.