To calculate the average atomic mass of carbon, we need to consider the abundance of each isotope and its corresponding atomic mass.
Given that carbon-12 (C-12) and carbon-13 (C-13) isotopes exist in a 9:1 abundance ratio, we can assign the following values:
Abundance of C-12 = 9 Abundance of C-13 = 1
Atomic mass of C-12 = 12.0000 amu (approximately) Atomic mass of C-13 = 13.0034 amu (approximately)
To calculate the average atomic mass, we can use the following formula:
Average atomic mass = (Abundance of C-12 × Atomic mass of C-12) + (Abundance of C-13 × Atomic mass of C-13)
Plugging in the values:
Average atomic mass = (9 × 12.0000 amu) + (1 × 13.0034 amu) = 108.0000 amu + 13.0034 amu = 121.0034 amu
Therefore, the average atomic mass of carbon is approximately 121.0034 amu.