desired. By choosing to look for the most abundant isotopic version of a molecule, the analysis is likely to be most sensitive, which enables even smaller amounts of the target compounds to be quantified. Therefore, the concept is very useful to analysts looking for trace-level residues of organic molecules, such as pesticide residue in foods and agricultural products. Isotopic masses can play an important role in physics but physics less often deals with molecules. Molecules differing by an isotope are sometimes distinguished from one another in molecular spectroscopy or related fields; however, it is usually a single isotope change on a larger molecule that can be observed rather than the isotopic composition of an entire molecule. The isotopic substitution changes the vibrational frequencies of various bonds in the molecule, which can have observable effects on the chemical reactivity via the kinetic isotope effect, and even by extension the biological activity in some cases. See also Mass (mass spectrometry) Molecular mass Dalton (unit) Mass number References Mass spectrometry Chemical properties