A 50.0g sample of industrial wastewater was determined to contain 0.48 mg of mercury. Express the mercury concentration of the waste water in ppm and ppb units.

(1). 9.6 ppm.

(2). 9600 ppb.

Explanation:

PPM and PPB are the acronyms that stands for Parts per million and Parts per Billion respectively. The parts per million and Parts per Billion are both used in the description of how many parts concentration of particular substance are being dissolved in a a solvent. The Parts per Million can be represented mathematically by using the formula below;

ppm = milligram of solute / litre of a solution.

Hence the units for parts per million = mg / L.

So, the parts per million for this reaction, ppm = 0.48 x (1000 / 50.0) x 10⁶ ppm. = 9.6 ppm.

The parts per Billion can be calculated just as the parts per million has been Calculated above. But, instead of mg/L we will have a microgram per litre. So, we will have;

0.48 mg Hg x (1000 / 50.0) x 10⁹ ppb.

ppb = 9600 ppb