Question

What type of information can one obtain by taking a mass spectrum of an organic molecule like dodecane?

Answer 1

Mass spectrum of Dodecane will give following information.

1 ) Molecular Peak or Parent Peak:
                                                       The Parent peak will appear at m/z = 170. The intensity of this peak will be very weak.

2) Fragments:
                      Usually the fragments of such long chain alkanes appear with spacing of 14 amu, Hence, the peaks in dodecane will be as follow,

         170 - 156 - 142 - 128 - 114 - 100 - 86 - 72 - 58 - 44 - 30 - 16

3) Base Peak:
                     Most probably the Base peak will appear at m/z = 57. This peak is due to the formation of tertiary butyl cation as the intensity mainly depends upon the stability of cation. So this cation might form due to rearrangment giving the intensity of 100%.