How Do You Convert Molarity to PPM for Calcium Hardness in Pools?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around converting molarity to parts per million (ppm) for calcium hardness in swimming pool water. Participants are exploring the relationship between concentration in mol/L and ppm, particularly in the context of calcium ions and calcium carbonate.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to understand the conversion process from molarity to ppm, questioning the definitions and relationships involved. There are inquiries about how to handle error propagation in the context of calcium hardness calculations.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights into the conversion process and the significance of understanding the definitions of ppm and molarity. Others are still seeking clarity on the conversion specifics and how to apply error analysis to their calculations.

Contextual Notes

There is a mention of the need to consider the relationship between calcium ions and calcium carbonate when discussing ppm, which may influence the conversion approach. Additionally, participants are dealing with specific error values related to their measurements, which adds complexity to their calculations.

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hi I am doing one of those determining calcium hardness in swimming pool water here just stuck on a few bits


1) how do i convert concentration (mol/L) -> ppm ( parts per milliion) example i am given concentration of calcium = 8.595*10^-4 M how do i get parts per milliion?

2) i am told to calculate the error in calcium hardness found, all i am given are the error values of concentration EDTA in the burette as 0.01022M and the error 0.00003 M and the average titre volume is 8.41ml with error 0.02 cm^3 what am i meant to do with these errors? and how do i calculate the error in calicum hardness? is it something like this:

eg for first bit 0.00003/0.01022 + 0.02/8.41 don't know please help out
 
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1) The conversion folllows directly from the definitions. Concentration is defined as the number of moles of solute per liter of solvent. How amny particles are there in a mole of the solute ? How many in a liter of water ? And what does ppm mean (explain in words, similarly) ?

2) See propagation of errors here : http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/errors.htm
Also, work the examples to make sure you understand. Your text also likely has a chapter right at the beginning, where they talk about error analysis.

Once you know how errors propagate, the first step towards solving your problem is writing the balanced equation for the titration, and calculating the expression for the end point. Then you may apply the techniques for calculating errors.
 
ok i got the part about the errors that's all fine just the conversion from Molarity (mol/l) to parts per million is confusing.

the concentration of Ca2+ is 8.49*10^04 M how do they go from that to a ppm of Ca2+ 84.900 ?
 
dagg3r said:
ok i got the part about the errors that's all fine just the conversion from Molarity (mol/l) to parts per million is confusing.

the concentration of Ca2+ is 8.49*10^04 M how do they go from that to a ppm of Ca2+ 84.900 ?
The trick here is to realize that Water Hardness is specified by (ppm CaCO3) and NOT by (ppm Ca+2). However, every Mole Ca+2 in aqueous solution corresponds to 1 original Mole CaCO3. Thus, since "ppm" aqueous solution is equivalent to {mg/(10^6 mg water)}={mg/(10^3 grams water)}={mg/(liter water)}:
{CaCO3 Concentration (moles/lit)} {Ca+2 Concentration (moles/lit)}
{ppm CaCO3} = { CaCO3 Concentration (moles/lit)}*{(100 grams)/(Mole CaCO3)}*{1000 mg/gram} =
= {8.49*10^(-4) M}*{100}*{1000} =
= (84.9 ppm)


~~
 
Last edited:

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