Relative atomic mass
The number of protons an atom has determines what element it is. However, most elements in nature consist of atoms with different numbers of neutrons. An atom of an element with a certain number of neutrons is called an isotope. For example, the element thallium has two common isotopes: thallium-203 and thallium-205. Both isotopes of thallium have 81 protons, but thallium-205 has 124 neutrons, 2 more than thallium-203, which has 122. Each isotope has its own mass, called its isotopic mass. A relative isotopic mass is the mass of an isotope relative to 1/12 the mass of a carbon-12 atom. The relative isotopic mass of an isotope is roughly the same as its mass number, which is the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Like relative atomic mass values, relative isotopic mass values are ratios with no units.