To determine the mass of a nitrogen-15 atom based on the given information, we need to use the concept of relative atomic masses.
The relative atomic mass (also known as atomic weight) is the average mass of an atom of an element, taking into account the different isotopes and their abundances. The atomic mass of an element is compared to the mass of an atom of carbon-12, which is assigned a relative atomic mass of exactly 12.
Given that the mass of oxygen-16 is 1.06632 times that of nitrogen-15, we can set up the following equation:
(Atomic mass of oxygen-16) / (Atomic mass of nitrogen-15) = 1.06632
Let's denote the atomic mass of nitrogen-15 as x. The atomic mass of oxygen-16 is 1.06632 times that of nitrogen-15, so we can express it as:
16 / x = 1.06632
Now we can solve this equation to find the value of x (the atomic mass of nitrogen-15):
x = 16 / 1.06632
x ≈ 14.996
Therefore, the atomic mass of nitrogen-15 is approximately 14.996 atomic mass units (AMU).
It's important to note that atomic masses are not equivalent to the actual masses of atoms in grams. They are relative values used for comparison purposes in the realm of atomic and molecular calculations.