Cite the difference between atomic mass and atomic weight. i need it as soon as possple Solution Atomic mass : The atomic mass (ma) is the mass of an atom at rest, most often expressed in unified atomic mass units. The atomic mass is sometimes incorrectly used as a synonym of relative atomic mass, average atomic mass and atomic weight; however, these differ subtly from the atomic mass. The atomic mass is defined as the mass of an atom, which can only be one isotope at a time and is not an abundance-weighted average. The actual numerical difference is usually very small such that it does not affect most bulk calculations but such an error can be critical when considering individual atoms. Atomic weight : Definition: The average mass of the atoms of an element. This is a weighted average of the naturally-occurring isotopes. -Ratio of the average mass of a chemical element\'s atoms to some standard. Since 1961 the standard unit of atomic mass has been one-twelfth the mass of an atom of the isotope carbon-12. An isotope is one of two or more species of atoms of the same chemical element that have different atomic numbers (protons + neutrons) and thus different atomic masses. .