. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **Mercury is first mined in ores then extracted and condensed. Mercury (Hg) is a white, liquid, dense, metal with a mirror-like appearance. It is the only metal that is liquid during room temperature and is commonly used in thermometers. NATURAL ISOTOPES Mass Number Natural Abundance (%) 196 0.15% 198 9.97% 199 16.87% 200 23.10% 201 13.18% 202 29.86% Mercury has 34 different isotopes, with the highest natural abundance at 29.86%. There are numerous isotopes for Mercury. These include isotopes 172- 196, 197,199,203, and 205-208. Most isotopes are formed through nuclear reactions which make most of them unstable or Mercury isotopes have many uses. For example, in a Canadian experiment 3 isotopes (Hg-198, Hg- 200 and Hg-202) were used to track how mercury accumulates in fish. A medical use for mercury isotopes would be for gamma radiation calibration. 196 Hg, 198 Hg, 199 Hg, 200 Hg, 201 Hg, 202 Hg 204 Hg Average atomic mass=( atomic mass x abundance%)+( atomic mass x abundance%)+ ( atomic mass x abundance%)+( atomic mass x abundance%)+( atomic mass x abundance%)+ ( atomic mass x abundance%)+( atomic mass x abundance%) AAM= (195.965833 x 0.15%) + (197.9667690 x 9.97%) + (198.9682799 x 16.87%) + (199.9683260 x 23.10%) + (200.9703023 x 13.18%) + (201.9706430 x 29.86%) + (203.9734939 x 6.87%) AAM= 0.2939487495 + 19.7372868693 + 33.56594881913 + 46.192683306 + APA CITATIONS Gagnon, S. (n.d.). Isotopes of the element mercury. Retrieved from http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/iso080.html ChemiCool. (n.d.). Mercury element facts. Retrieved from http://www.chemicool.com/elements/mercury.html Lucy Low September 28 th 2010