Question

Copper has two naturally occurring isotopes. Cu−63 has a mass of 62.939 amu and relative abundance of 69.17%.

Answer 1

The answer is 64.907 amu.

The atomic mass of an element is the average of the atomic masses of its isotopes. The relative abundance of isotopes must be taken into consideration, therefore:
atomic mass of copper = atomic mass of isotope 1 * abundance 1 + atomic mass of isotope 2 * abundance 2

We know:
atomic mass of copper = 63.546 amu
The atomic mass of isotope 1 is: 62.939 amu
The abundance of isotope 1 is: 69.17% = 0.6917
The atomic mass of isotope 1 is: x
The abundance of isotope 2: 100% - 69.17% = 30.83% = 0.3083

Thus:
63.546 amu = 62.939 amu * 0.6917 + x * 0.3083
63.546 amu = 43.535 amu + 0.3083x
⇒ 63.546 amu - 43.535 amu = 0.3083x
⇒ 20.011 amu = 0.3083x
   ⇒ x = 20.011 amu ÷ 0.3083 = 64.907 amu