Atomic mass
The atomic mass (relative isotopic mass) is defined as the mass of a single atom, which can only be one isotope (nuclide) at a time, and is not an abundance-weighted average, as in the case of relative atomic mass/atomic weight. The atomic mass or relative isotopic mass of each isotope and nuclide of a chemical element is therefore a number that can in principle be measured to a very great precision, since every specimen of such a nuclide is expected to be exactly identical to every other specimen, as all atoms of a given type in the same energy state, and every specimen of a particular nuclide, are expected to be exactly identical in mass to every other specimen of that nuclide. For example, every atom of oxygen-16 is expected to have exactly the same atomic mass (relative isotopic mass) as every other atom of oxygen-16.
Atomic mass
When divided by unified atomic mass units, or daltons ("abbr." Da), to form a pure numeric ratio, the atomic mass of an atom becomes a dimensionless value called the relative isotopic mass (see section below). Thus, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom is 12 u (or 12 Da), but the relative isotopic mass of a carbon-12 atom is simply 12.