The environmental protection agency (EPA) wanted to study the particular materials in the atmosphere in Bogus Basin at 7200 ft elevation. The sampled air rate was at 1.00 liter per minute and was allowed to run 24 hours per day for 30 days. At the end of the month the filter was weighed. the initial weight of filter paper was 87.8 and final weight was 130.8. What is the concentration in PPM based on milligrams per milliliter, what did the ppm concentration did they report?
...What ppm concentration did they report.
Have you thought that units may be necessary for the mass of the filter paper, both before and after the 30 day period?
To determine the concentration in ppm (parts per million) based on milligrams per milliliter, we first need to calculate the change in weight of the filter paper.
Change in weight = Final weight - Initial weight
Change in weight = 130.8 mg - 87.8 mg
Change in weight = 43 mg
Next, we need to calculate the total amount of air that passed through the filter over the 30-day period.
Total air volume = Sampled air rate * Time
Total air volume = 1.00 L/min * 24 hours/day * 30 days = 720 L
Now, we need to convert the total air volume from liters to milliliters.
Total air volume = 720 L * 1000 mL/L = 720,000 mL
To find the concentration in milligrams per milliliter (mg/mL), we divide the change in weight by the total air volume.
Concentration = Change in weight / Total air volume
Concentration = 43 mg / 720,000 mL
Concentration ≈ 0.000060 mg/mL
Finally, we need to convert the concentration to ppm. Since 1 ppm is equivalent to 1 mg/L (or 1 mg/mL), we can directly report the concentration as ppm.
The ppm concentration they would report is approximately 0.000060 ppm.