Question

The atomic mass of oxygen is 16 and the atomic mass of hydrogen is 1. How do the current atomic masses of oxygen and hydrogen compare to Dalton’s?

Answer 1

- Dalton reported that seven pounds of Oxygen reacted with one pound of hydrogen to form water, but accurate modern experiment gives eight pounds to one.
- Lavoisier reported that water contains Oxygen 5.6 times more than hydrogen by weight. 
- Dalton assumed that water contains 1 atom of oxygen and 1 atom of hydrogen and concluded that the relative weight of O must be 5.6 times as large as the H atom.
- By determining the relative mass we will be able to determine for example that one element has twice the mass of a second element.