A chemistry student needs to analyze a water sample to determine the concentration of a certain contaminant. The student knows the initial concentration of the contaminant in the source water and the volume of the source water used to produce the final sample. Can the student use mass balance calculations to determine the concentration of the contaminant in the final water sample? If so, what is the concentration of the contaminant in the final sample?

Question

A chemistry student needs to analyze a water sample to determine the concentration of a certain contaminant. The student knows the initial concentration of the contaminant in the source water and the volume of the source water used to produce the final sample. Can the student use mass balance calculations to determine the conce

Answer 1

Yes, the student can use mass balance calculations to determine the concentration of the contaminant in the final water sample. To do this, the student needs to know the initial concentration of the contaminant in the source water  C1 , the volume of the source water used  V1 , and the volume of the final water sample  V2 .The mass balance equation is:mass of contaminant in source water = mass of contaminant in final sampleC1 * V1 = C2 * V2where C2 is the concentration of the contaminant in the final sample.To find the concentration of the contaminant in the final sample  C2 , the student can rearrange the equation:C2 =  C1 * V1  / V2However, without the specific values for the initial concentration  C1 , the volume of the source water  V1 , and the volume of the final sample  V2 , it is not possible to provide the exact concentration of the contaminant in the final sample.