Definition:Molecular Weight
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Definition
Let $S$ be a substance.
Let $S$ be homogeneous.
The molecular weight of $S$ is defined as:
- $W_S = m_S \times \dfrac {12} {m_C}$
where:
- $m_S$ is the (arithmetic) mean mass of one molecule of $S$
It is understood that the atoms that compose the molecules of $S$ may be of different isotopes according to their relative natural concentrations at the source of wherever $S$ came from.
Hence the use of the (arithmetic) mean mass in the definition of $m_S$.
Linguistic Note
The term molecular weight is a misnomer, as what is being defined here is a mass.