If the relative molecular mass of an element is not a whole number, it can be deduced that the element is
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If the relative molecular mass of an element is not a whole number, it can be deduced that the element is an isotopic mixture. This is because the relative molecular mass of an element is the average of the masses of all the isotopes of that element, taking into account their relative abundances. Isotopic mixture means that the element is composed of different isotopes with different masses and different relative abundances. For example, chlorine has two isotopes, Cl-35 and Cl-37, which have relative abundances of 75.5% and 24.5%, respectively. The average atomic mass of chlorine is therefore not a whole number, but a weighted average of the masses of these isotopes, taking into account their abundances.