The actual mass of a cl 37 atom is 36.966 amu. calculate the mass defect (amu/atom) for a cl 37 atom

The mass defect Δm = 0.33626 amu

Explanation:

Given,

The actual mass of a Cl 37 atom, m = 36.966 amu

The atomic number of Cl is 17. Hence, chlorine has 17 protons,

Therefore, the Cl 37 has 20 neutrons

The mass of 1 proton = 1.00728 amu

The mass of 1 neutron = 1.00867 amu

The mass of 17 protons = 17 x 1.00728 = 17.12886 amu

The mass of 20 protons = 20 x 1.00867 = 20.1734 amu

The total mass of proton and neutron, M = 37.30226 amu

The mass defect is defined as the difference in the sum of the mass of protons and neutrons of the nucleus of an atom to the actual mass of the nucleus.

Therefore,

Δm = M - m

= 37.30226 - 36.966

= 0.33626 amu

Hence, the mass defect of the Cl 37 atom is, Δm = 0.33626 amu