The mass spectrum of an organic compound shows the relative abundances of m to be 85.03% and m 1 to be 21.15%. assuming the peaks are caused by 12c and 13c isotopes, determine the number of carbon atoms in the compound. natural abundances: 12c is 98.93% and 13c is 1.07%

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Chemistry

Phoenix Mccarty

29 March, 19:39

The mass spectrum of an organic compound shows the relative abundances of m to be 85.03% and m 1 to be 21.15%. assuming the peaks are caused by 12c and 13c isotopes, determine the number of carbon atoms in the compound. natural abundances: 12c is 98.93% and 13c is 1.07%

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Johanna Charles · Answer 1

If the ratio of 13C to 12C is 1.08% (1.07/98.93), then a compound with ten carbons would have a ratio of 10.8%. So if the ratio is 21.15/85.03, then how many carbons are in the compound? (21.15/85.03) / 1.08 = 0.230310871 or 23 carbons. 23*1.08 = (21.15/85.03) = 24.84