Article
Article
Molecular weight
Article By:
Caldwell, C. Denise Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.431100
The sum of the atomic weights of all atoms making up a molecule. Actually, what is meant by molecular weight is molecular mass. The use of this expression is historical, however, and will be maintained. The atomic weight is the mass, in atomic mass units, of an atom. It is approximately equal to the total number of nucleons, protons and neutrons, composing the nucleus. Since 1961 the official definition of the atomic mass unit (amu) has been that it is the mass of the carbon-12 isotope, which is assigned the value 12.000 exactly. See also: Atomic mass; Atomic mass unit; Relative atomic mass; Relative molecular mass
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