The atmosphere of the star is 70% by mass hydrogen and 30% helium. How many times are there more hydrogen atoms in a star’s
August 2, 2020 | Education
| The atmosphere of the star is 70% by mass hydrogen and 30% helium. How many times are there more hydrogen atoms in a star’s atmosphere than helium atoms if it is known that the mass of one helium atom is four times greater than the mass of one hydrogen atom?
Let x be the number of hydrogen atoms in the atmosphere and y the number of helium atoms. It follows from the condition that
x / 4y = 70/30
those. 3x = 28y. Consequently, the ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms to the number of helium atoms is x / y = 28/3 ≈ 9.
