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

1 mole of carbon atoms means 6.022 × 1023 carbon atoms. In this case 1 mole of carbon atoms weighs 12 grams. This means that the mass of 6.022 × 1023 atoms of carbon is 12 grams.

Now, 6.022 × 1023 atoms of carbon have mass = 12 g


1 atom of carbon has mass = g


= 1.99 × 10-23 g


Thus, the absolute mass of 1 atom of carbon is 1.99 × 10-23 grams.


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