A sample containing carbon (atomic mass 12 u), oxygen (16 u), and an unknown element is placed in a mass spectrometer. The ions all have the same charge and are accelerated through the same potential difference before entering the magnetic field. The carbon and oxygen lines are separated by 2.250 cm on the photographic plate, and the unknown element makes a line between them that is 1.160 cm from the carbon line.
(a) What is the mass of the unknown element?
(b) Identify the element.
The conversion between atomic mass units and kilograms is
1 u = 1.66 × 10−27 kg