Mass SpectrometryThe stages, and how to read a spectrum.ChemistryThe stages inside the instrument.1IonisationElectron impact or electrospray produces positive ions.2AccelerationAn electric field gives all ions the same kinetic energy.3DeflectionA magnetic field deflects by mass-to-charge ratio.4DetectionAbundance recorded against m/z.READING A SPECTRUMM peak: the molecular ion, gives MrM+1 peak: ¹³C isotope, indicates carbon countM+2 peak: chlorine or bromine presentBase peak: the most abundant fragmentAn M+2 peak one third the height of M indicates one chlorine; roughlyequal heights indicate one bromine.Mass Spectrometrylearnposters.com
Mass Spectrometry — printable physical science wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Mass Spectrometry, step by step

The stages inside the instrument.

  1. IonisationElectron impact or electrospray produces positive ions.
  2. AccelerationAn electric field gives all ions the same kinetic energy.
  3. DeflectionA magnetic field deflects by mass-to-charge ratio.
  4. DetectionAbundance recorded against m/z.

Reading a spectrum

  • M peak: the molecular ion, gives Mr
  • M+1 peak: ¹³C isotope, indicates carbon count
  • M+2 peak: chlorine or bromine present
  • Base peak: the most abundant fragment

An M+2 peak one third the height of M indicates one chlorine; roughly equal heights indicate one bromine.

Questions about the Mass Spectrometry poster

What’s on the Mass Spectrometry poster?
4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The stages inside the instrument. Ionisation — Electron impact or electrospray produces positive ions.; Acceleration — An electric field gives all ions the same kinetic energy.; Deflection — A magnetic field deflects by mass-to-charge ratio.; Detection — Abundance recorded against m/z.. An M+2 peak one third the height of M indicates one chlorine; roughly equal heights indicate one bromine.
Who is the Mass Spectrometry poster for?
Mass Spectrometry belongs to the Chemistry section rather than to a school year, because physical science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning analytical can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Mass Spectrometry poster?
The molecular ion peak gives the relative molecular mass. Fragments give the structure. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Mass Spectrometry belongs on the wall where that physical science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Mass Spectrometry?
Calibration, Indicators and Chromatography Methods sit alongside Mass Spectrometry in the Chemistry section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.CalibrationIndicatorsChromatography Methods
Is the Mass Spectrometry poster free to download and print?
Yes. Mass Spectrometry downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Chemistry section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Mass Spectrometry poster print at?
Mass Spectrometry is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Mass Spectrometry loses nothing.Printing guide

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