To calculate the mass of one oxygen atom, you need to know the atomic mass of oxygen. The atomic mass of oxygen is approximately 16.00 atomic mass units (amu).
The atomic mass of an element represents the average mass of all the isotopes of that element, taking into account their relative abundances. Oxygen has three naturally occurring isotopes: oxygen-16, oxygen-17, and oxygen-18.
Oxygen-16 is the most abundant isotope, accounting for over 99% of naturally occurring oxygen atoms. Oxygen-17 and oxygen-18 are less abundant, with much lower percentages.
To calculate the mass of one oxygen atom, you can use the atomic mass as a conversion factor. The atomic mass of oxygen tells you how many grams one mole of oxygen atoms weighs.
The molar mass of oxygen is approximately 16.00 grams per mole (g/mol).
Since one mole of any substance contains Avogadro's number of particles (6.022 × 10^23 particles), you can calculate the mass of one oxygen atom as follows:
Mass of one oxygen atom = (Mass of one mole of oxygen) / (Avogadro's number)
= (16.00 g/mol) / (6.022 × 10^23 atoms/mol)
≈ 2.66 × 10^-23 grams
Therefore, the mass of one oxygen atom is approximately 2.66 × 10^-23 grams.