The neutron is slightly heavier than the proton.There are two reasons for the difference between mass number and isotopic mass, known as the mass defect: For example, 63Cu (29 protons and 34 neutrons) has a mass number of 63 and an isotopic mass in its nuclear ground state is 62.91367 u. For other isotopes, the isotopic mass usually differs and is usually within 0.1 u of the mass number. One unified atomic mass unit is approximately the mass of one nucleon (either a single proton or neutron) and is numerically equivalent to 1 g/mol.įor 12C the atomic mass is exactly 12u, since the atomic mass unit is defined from it. One atomic mass unit is equal to 1.66 x 10 -24 grams. The unit of measure for mass is the atomic mass unit (amu). Units of measure have been defined for mass and energy on the atomic scale to make measurements more convenient to express. The size and mass of atoms are so small that the use of normal measuring units, while possible, is often inconvenient.

Note that, each element may contain more isotopes, therefore this resulting atomic mass is calculated from naturally-occuring isotopes and their abundance. The atomic mass is carried by the atomic nucleus, which occupies only about 10 -12 of the total volume of the atom or less, but it contains all the positive charge and at least 99.95% of the total mass of the atom. The atomic mass or relative isotopic mass refers to the mass of a single particle, and therefore is tied to a certain specific isotope of an element.

Chemical symbol for iron