What is relative molecular mass (RMM) and why use carbon-12?

This is the mass of the atoms in your compound relative to the mass of one atom of Carbon-12 (previously they used Hydrogen-1 or oxygen-16, but these have many naturally occurring isotopes). C-12 is easily measured and has less isotopes than naturally occurring oxygen and hydrogen, so was decided on as the internationally used convention to avoid any miscalculations based on the country research was being conducted in.
It is calculated by the average mass of one molecule divided by 1/12 the mass of a carbon-12 atom

AP
Answered by Alexander P. Chemistry tutor

9547 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Why can there be one major product and one minor product after electrophilic addition takes place across a double bond?


How would you synthesise an carboxylic acid just from a primary haloalkane like bromoethane?


What is the difference between Covalent and Ionic bonding?


Explain the decrease in reactivity of Group 2 elements as you go down the periodic table


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning