Percent abundance is a term used in chemistry and environmental science that refers to the percentage of a particular isotope of an element relative to the total number of isotopes of that element in a given sample. It is an important concept when discussing isotopes, as different isotopes of the same element can have different physical properties and stability.
For instance, if you have a sample of carbon that contains 98% of the isotope carbon-12 and 2% of carbon-14, you would say that the percent abundance of carbon-12 is 98% and the percent abundance of carbon-14 is 2%. This information is critical for various applications, such as radiocarbon dating, where understanding the proportion of carbon-14 helps determine the age of an archaeological find.
In essence, percent abundance provides a clear and quantitative representation of the isotopic composition of an element in nature, aiding in both scientific analysis and practical applications.