Question

If one mole of carbon atoms weighs 12grams, what is the mass (in grams) of 1 atom of carbon?

Answer 1

Calculating the mass of the Carbon atom

It is given that 1 mole of carbon atoms weighs 12grams.

Also in 1 mole of carbon atoms, there are Avogadro's number of atoms that $6.022\times {10}^{23}\mathrm{atoms}$

If $6.022\times {10}^{23}\mathrm{atoms}$ weight 12 grams

$\therefore$1 carbon atom will weigh

$$\begin{gathered} \frac{12}{6.022\times {10}^{23}} \\ =1.99\times {10}^{-23}\mathrm{g} \\ \approx 2\times {10}^{-23}\mathrm{g} \end{gathered}$$

Therefore, the mass (in grams) of 1 atom of carbon is $2\times {10}^{-23}\mathrm{g}$.