2007-10-01 07:14:16 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
You run a mass spectrum of the compound. The isotope for the element will appear as peaks and their percentage abundance which can be easily calculated and interpreted.
In fact this is ons way that chemists find out whether a compound contains a certain element. They will run a mass spectrum of a complex compound, and from the resulting spectrum, if they see a particular element with known isotopes, they can perform isotopic concentration calculations from the peak sizes of the isotope peaks. They can determine then determine whether the compound has that particular element in it or not.
2007-10-01 07:28:29 · answer #1 · answered by Dr Dave P 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You take a mass spectrum of the element, and compare the peak heights. These give abundances directly.
2007-10-01 14:28:07 · answer #2 · answered by Gervald F 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋