Integrating a concentration profile

[DiffusConfuse]

Hello-

I have a diffusion profile, in which I plot the decrease in concentration versus distance of my sample. I am trying to find the increase in mass of the overall sample. How would I do this?

I have integrated the function and am wondering what type of information that would supply my. Units would be concentration*distance. moles*m

 

[mfb]

How are concentration of something and "mass of the overall sample" related?
If your diffusion (and concentration) is not one-dimensional, you should consider this in the integral.
"Moles" is not a concentration.

 

[DiffusConfuse]

I did not actually plot the concentration. My diffusion profile consists of an initial amount of substance a in moles n(a) and plots it as a function of distance in the sample. so I am trying to figure out what information I get when I integrate this profile. moles*meters would be the units

 

[mfb]

Again, "moles" is not a concentration. Moles as a function of distance are meaningless, unless it means the total amount of substance between that point and some other point. In that case, I don't see any application of the integral.

 

[Chestermiller]

Concentration is usually expressed as moles per unit volume (e.g., moles/cc). The integral of this is moles/cm². To get the total number of moles in the sample, you then need to multiply by the cross sectional area of the sample.