Exam tip

Question 1

All particles in the mass spectrometer are accelerated to the same kinetic energy.

The time of flight is proportional to the square root of the mass of the ions, showing that the lighter the ion the faster it will pass through and the quicker it will hit the detector.

The heavier the ion, the slower it will travel and the longer it will take to hit the detector.

Answer 1

All particles in the mass spectrometer are accelerated to the same kinetic energy.

The time of flight is proportional to the square root of the mass of the ions, showing that the lighter the ion the faster it will pass through and the quicker it will hit the detector.

The heavier the ion, the slower it will travel and the longer it will take to hit the detector.

Question 2

The time of flight is proportional…….. showing ………….

Answer 2

to the square root of the mass of the ions,

showing that the lighter the ion the faster it will pass through and the quicker it will hit the detector.

Question 3

The heavier the ion, the ……… it will travel and the longer it will take to hit the detector

Answer 3

slower