Q9E
Question
What is the mass of fish, in kilograms, that one would have to consume to obtain a fatal dose of mercury, if the fish contains \({\bf{30}}\)parts per million of mercury by weight? (Assume that all the mercury from the fish ends up as Mercury (II) chloride in the body and that a fatal dose is \({\bf{0}}.{\bf{20}}{\rm{ }}{\bf{g}}\) of\({\bf{HgC}}{{\bf{l}}_2}\).) How many pounds of fish is this?
Step-by-Step Solution
VerifiedThe mass of fish,\(m(fish)\) is 6.67 kg.
Mass represents the value of any matter contained in an object. It is expressed in kilograms (kg). It does not have any dimension.
- \(30{\rm{ppm}} = 30{\rm{mg}}/{\rm{kg}}\) (Ppm is usually \({\rm{mg}}/{\rm{L}}\)but since here it is written "per weight", we are using \({\rm{mg}}/{\rm{kg}}\)which is also \({10^6}\)larger unit).
- To calculate the amount of fish, divide the lethal dose by the concentration of mercury in the given amount of fish.
The calculation is as follows:
\({\bf{m(fish) = }}\frac{ { {\bf{m( lethaldose )}}}}{{{\bf{m( concentration )}}}}\)
\(m(fish) = \frac{{0.20g}}{{30 \times {{10}^{ - 3}}g/kg}}\)
\(m(fish) = 6.67kg\)