How do we know which isotope of an element is involved in a chemical reaction?

1 Answer
anor277
Nov 15, 2017

Well, we assume the standard isotope....or the AVERAGE mass of the isotopes in a chemical calculation.

Explanation:

...otherwise you are a shot bird. For hydrogen, we would normally assume #""^1H#, i.e. no nuclear neutrons; and also for the lighter elements. When I use the atomic mass of hydrogen in a chemical calculation I always use the mass #1.00794*g*mol^-1# (which of course is close enuff to 1). Transitions metals in particular have an envelope of isotopes, and the quoted atomic mass is the weighted average of these isotopes.

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