Question
Explain why chlorine, whether as the element or its compounds, always has a relative atomic mass of about 35.5.

Answer

The relative atomic mass is the average mass of the naturally occurring stable isotopes of an element Chlorine exist as two stable isotopes i.e. ${ }^{35} Cl$ and ${ }^{37} Cl$ in ratio $3: 1$ respectively. Therefore Relative atomic mass of chlorine is taken as average of both stable isotopes.
Natural chlorine always contains about $\frac{3}{4} \times{ }_{17}^{33} Cl$ and $\frac{1}{4} \times{ }_{17}^{37} Cl$
Therefore, relative atomic mass of chlorine $=\frac{3}{4} \times 35+\frac{1}{4} \times 37=35.5$

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