one mole of copper has a different mass from one mole of mercury because one mole of copper has a different mass from one mole of mercury because
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Answer: One mole of copper has a different mass from one mole of mercury because the atomic masses of copper and mercury are different. The atomic mass of an element is the mass of a single atom of that element, measured in atomic mass units (amu). These values can be found on the periodic table and are based on the weighted average of the isotopes of the element.
One mole, by definition, contains exactly 6.022 x 10^23 (Avogadro's number) of particles (which could be atoms, molecules, ions, etc.). This is known as a mole and is a standard unit of measurement for the amount of substance in chemistry.
The molar mass of an element is the mass of one mole of its atoms. Since different elements have atoms with different masses, the molar mass of each element is different. For example, one mole of copper (Cu), which has an atomic mass of approximately 63.546 amu, will have a mass of approximately 63.546 grams. On the other hand, one mole of mercury (Hg), which has an atomic mass of approximately 200.59 amu, will have a mass of approximately 200.59 grams. Therefore, despite both being a mole and containing the same number of atoms, a mole of copper will weigh less than a mole of mercury due to the difference in their atomic masses.
Extra: The concept of the mole is fundamental to stoichiometry, which is the study of the quantitative relationships between the amounts of reactants and products in a chemical reaction. Knowing that a mole contains a specific number of entities (Avogadro's number) allows chemists to convert between mass, moles, and number of particles. It is important for students to understand that while a mole of any substance always contains the same number of particles, the mass of one mole of each substance is unique and depends on the individual properties of that substance, more specifically, their atomic or molecular weights. The atomic mass is especially important because it reflects the average mass of all the isotopes of the element as they occur naturally. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, leading to different atomic masses.