relative atomic mass
- noun
- /ˈrɛlətɪv əˈtɒmɪk mæs/
- Specialized
:
masa atómica relativa
- Understanding the relative atomic mass helps in determining the properties of different isotopes.
Examples
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These constants are not only important in their own right, but, together with R ∞ and the relative atomic mass of the electron A r ( e), they determine the recommended values of many other constants and conversion factors of prime interest.
Academic text (2003) -
The relative atomic mass of hydrogen is approximately 1.008 atomic mass units.
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Chemists use the relative atomic mass to calculate the amount of an element in a compound.
Synonyms
2
3.9
The average mass of the atoms of a chemical element, measured in atomic mass units
1
3.6
A number that tells how heavy one atom of an element is in atomic mass units
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination 'relative' + 'atomic' + 'mass' readily signals to a learner that this is about the mass of an atom expressed in relation to some standard, so the core idea is inferable from the constituents. However, the specific technical convention (use of atomic mass units and the reference to one‑twelfth of carbon‑12) is specialized and not predictable from the words alone, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Relative atomic mass comes from the simple idea of showing an atom's mass 'relative' to a chosen standard. Scientists use one atom of carbon-12 as that standard and give it the number 12, so other atoms are measured by comparison to it. That's why the term means the mass of an atom shown as a number 'compared to' carbon-12.