Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
Q. What is the atomic mass of silver?
Answer: Atomic number and atomic mass number are two very important and basic properties of any element. Several electrons or protons characteristic to the element make the atomic number of that element. The atomic mass number, on the other hand, is stated as the total of the number of protons and neutrons present in the nucleus of an atom of a particular element. So unlike the atomic number, atomic mass is virtually concentrated in the nucleus of an atom only.
The atomic number is mostly constant for a specific element but atomic mass can be different. This happens because, though the number of protons is constant for a particular element, the number of neutrons can vary. And hence, eventually atomic mass also varies for some elements. In such cases, atomic species of the same element with different atomic masses are known as isotopes.
The atomic mass of an element is determined by taking the average of the atomic masses of all of its isotopes, based on the relative abundance of each isotope. There is an atomic mass unit for expressing atomic mass (amu). 1.66 x 10-24 grams are the atomic mass unit.
Silver is symbolically represented as Ag, and it is a white, lustrous transition metal. It has an atomic number of 47. In nature, silver can be found in two of its stable isotopic forms. One isotope is 107Ag and another one is 109Ag. 107Ag accounts for almost 51. 839 percent and hence comparatively more abundant. Other than these two stable isotopes, silver can also be found in forty different radio isotopic forms. The most stable radioisotope of silver is 105Ag with a half-life of around 41.29 days. Two other quite stable radioisotopes of silver are 111Ag and 112Ag. The half-lives of these two radio isotopic forms of silver are 7.43 days and 3. 13 hours, respectively.
Thus because of these diverse isotopes and their relative abundances, the atomic mass of silver is considered 107.8682 amu. This is closest to the mass of the most abundant and most stable isotope of silver- 107Ag.
