Nickel Has a Lower Atomic Mass Than Cobalt, Even Though

question 154

Essay

Nickel has a lower atomic mass than cobalt, even though it has a higher atomic number. One possible explanation is that one of the average atomic masses was miscalculated. In the case of cobalt, there is only one isotope: 100% ⁵⁹Co at a mass of 58.9332 amu. For nickel, however, there are five isotopes as given in the table. A. Using the data in the table, calculate the average atomic mass for nickel.
B. Is the atomic mass for nickel in your periodic table correct?
C. Regardless of your answer to part B, how else could you explain the observation that the atomic mass of nickel is less than the mass of cobalt, even though it has the higher atomic number?

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