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Molecular Weight and the Nominal Mass, Monoisotopic Mass and Average Molar Mass

This technical article explains the confusion resulting from molecular weight and the nominal mass, monoisotopic mass and average molar mass.
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This technical article explains the confusion resulting from molecular weight and the nominal mass, monoisotopic mass and average molar mass.

Mass associated with chemical formulae is different for those working in mass spectrometry as compared to those working in other fields of chemistry and in physics. Very early in science training, students are introduced to units of mass on the atomic scale. These units of mass are called atomic weights or atomic masses.

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Meet the Author(s):

  • O. David Sparkman is currently an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California; Contractor to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Mass Spectrometry Data Center; President of ChemUserWorld.com; and a former American Chemical Society Instructor (1978–2006) and American Society for Mass Spectrometry Member-at-large for Education (2004–2006). At the University of the Pacific, Prof. Sparkman teaches courses in mass spectrometry and analytical chemistry and manages the mass spectrometry facility. Over the past 28 years, he has developed and taught five different ACS courses in mass spectrometry; he holds positions on the Editorial Advisory Boards of the European Journal of Mass Spectrometry and the HD Science GC/MS Update – Part B; and is the Book Review Editor for the European Journal of Mass Spectrometry. He is the author of Mass Spectrometry Desk Reference (Global View Publishing: Pittsburgh, PA, 1st ed. 2000; 2nd ed. 2006). Prof. Sparkman is a member of the Editorial Boards of the John Wiley Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation and Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry, Editor of and a contributor to the Mass Spectrometry Section of the Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry, and a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation. Along with J. Throck Watson, he developed the Mass Spectral Interpretation Quick Reference Guide. He also provides general consulting service in mass spectrometry for a number of instrument manufacturers, manufacturing companies, and government agencies.

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