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ThatDude
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Homework Statement
Mercury poisoning is a debilitating disease that is often fatal.
In the human body, mercury reacts with essential enzymes
leading to irreversible inactivity of these enzymes. If the
amount of mercury in a polluted lake is 0.4 μg Hg/mL, what
is the total mass in kilograms of mercury in the lake? (The lake
has a surface area of 100 mi2 and an average depth of 20 ft.)
Homework Equations
mass = density * volume
The Attempt at a Solution
I tried converting the density to Kg and the volume to cm3 = mL
Mass = density * volume
= ( (0.4 μg)(1 g/ 106 μg) (10-3 kg / 1 g) ) * ( (100 mi2)(52802 ft2 / 1 mi2)(30.482 cm2 / 1 ft2) (20 ft)(30.48 cm / 1 ft) )
My answer is 6 x 105 kg however the textbook says it's 7 x 105 kg.