Gram atom, also known as gram-atomic mass or gram-atomic weight, is a unit of measurement used to express the atomic weight or mass of an element in grams. It is defined as the mass of one mole of atoms of a particular element.
The atomic weight of an element is the average mass of the atoms of that element, taking into account the natural abundance of its isotopes. The atomic weight is usually expressed in atomic mass units (amu) or unified atomic mass units (u).
To convert the atomic weight of an element to gram atoms, you simply express it in grams. For example, the atomic weight of carbon is approximately 12.01 amu. Therefore, one gram atom of carbon would be equal to 12.01 grams.
The concept of gram atom is particularly useful in chemical calculations and stoichiometry, where the masses of elements are often compared or combined in chemical reactions. It allows chemists to relate the mass of a substance to the number of atoms or molecules present, facilitating quantitative analysis and synthesis.