molecular weight
2
3.5
- noun
- /məˈlɛkjələr weɪt/
- Specialized
:
peso molecular
- The molecular weight of glucose is approximately 180 grams per mole.
- low-molecular weight
- high-molecular weight
- average molecular weight
Examples
-
We're seeing spots of all different molecular weights, so from low to high on this gel.
-
Our first experiment is gonna be measuring... the molecular weight of butane.
-
The molecular weight is relative to...
-
And that's the difference in the molecular weight up here.
-
MMM is the molecular weight of the molecule in question.
-
So right down here, molecular weight, a chemist able to control molecular weight.
-
But since we need it in moles, we have to multiply times the molecular weight of water.
-
It's a high molecular weight coating, so it goes on thicker and it self levels.
-
Above these values, the effect of molecular weight on the dissolution rate is negligible.
Academic text (2001) -
They were like, what's the molecular weight of strontium?
Synonyms
The mass of all the atoms in one molecule compared with one twelfth of a carbon-12 atom
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the weight (heaviness) of a molecule' is directly and compositionally derived from 'molecular' (relating to molecules) + 'weight' (a measure of heaviness). Although the precise technical definition (sum of relative atomic masses) is specialized, the basic concept is transparent and mirrored across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would grasp the general meaning.
Etymology
The phrase molecular weight comes from a simple image: molecular means 'of a molecule' and weight is what you get when you add the weights of the atoms, like putting tiny pieces on a scale to get one number. So, molecular weight means 'the total mass of a molecule'.