Lab 2B: Candium

The purpose of this lab was to apply the knowledge of isotopes, atomic masses, and how to find the average mass in a situation. We were given 3 different types of M&M's (which were supposed to be 3 different isotopes of new element candium), and then, step by step, applied the knowledge that we learned in the morning in a real-world environment.

My partner and I found that the average atomic mass was 1.49 amu.

1. A different group got that the average atomic mass of candium was 1.413. The reason for the difference would probably be different percentages of different isotopes. For example, the other group may have had a larger percentage of peanut M&M's than my group. Since the proportions aren't supposed to be the exact same across the board, a variance was expected.

2. If all of the groups that participated in this lab were given an entire backpack full of candium, any differences that the groups had would be smaller than they were with the sample size we were given (about a beaker full of candium). The reason for this would be because a larger sample size is more indicative of the population as a whole, so the proportions would be very close to each other.

3. If I were to place a piece of candium on a scale and weigh it, I would not expect the exact average atomic mass to come up on the scale. The reason for that is because the mass is an average of 123 pieces of candium. And since the average of a set of data isn't the same as a mode of a set of data, I wouldn't expect any piece of candium to weigh exactly the same as the average atomic mass.

4.