: Atomic mass of carbon 12 means: - From the application of the number Avogadro, we know that 6.02 × 10 ^ 23 is the actual mass of 23 atoms = its molecular mass ( M). So , the actual mass of an atom = M / Relative foot mass is basically how many times heavier an atom is than a carbon - 12 atom . Is the actual mass of the atom and the mass of the atom is the ratio of the mass relative to the mass of carbon- 12 atoms. Another notable difference is that there is a unit of atomic mass but no unit of mass.