Question

Why does one mole of carbon atoms have a smaller mass than one mole of sulfur atoms?

Answer 1

To determine this, you can look at the molecular weight of that particular atom which is found on the periodic table. Carbon has a molar mass of 12.01 grams / mole. Sulfur has a molar mass of 32.06 grams / mole. This means one mole of carbon weighs 12.01 grams and one mole of sulfur weighs 32.06 grams. Therefore, one mole of carbon atoms has a smaller mss than one mole of sulfur atoms.

Answer 2

Answer: Every mole of a substance weighs equal to the atomic mass of that substance. Atomic mass depends on the number of protons and number of neutrons.

Carbon is an element with atomic number of 6 and mass number of 12. Thus it has 6 protons and 6 neutrons.

Sulphur is an element with atomic number of 16 and mass number of 32. Thus it has 16 protons and 16 neutrons.

Carbon has an atomic mass of 12 whereas sulphur has an atomic mass of 32.