CEE 361 Introduction to Environmental Engineering

Homework 1 Fall 2016

Due August 26th, 2016, at the beginning of the class

Solve the following problems, from your textbook. Solutions should be presented in an organized
and logical manner with a problem statement and boxed answers.

1. A water sample contains 10 mg NO3-/L. What is the concentration in (a) ppmm, (b) moles
/L, (c) total N (in mg) (d) ppbm ?
a)
=

0.01

106 = 1000 106 = 10

10 mg NO3-/L is 10 ppmm

b)

Molar mass of NO3 = 62.0049 g/mole

10 mg NO3/L = 0.01 g/L
0.01 3
1
0.000161

=
= 0.161

62.0049

10 mg NO3-/L equals 0.161 mM

c)

0.000161 mole of NO3 contains 0.000161 mole of nitrogen

molar mass nitrogen = 14 g / mole
0.000161 14
0.00225

=
= 2.25

10 mg NO3-/L contains 2.25 mg/L of N

d)

0.01

109 = 1000 109 = 10,000

10 mg NO3-/L is 10,000 ppbm

2. Water that meets a standard of less than one coliform per 100 ml is considered safe for
human consumption. If a water sample contains 7 coliforms per liter, is it safe for
consumption?
7 7 0.7
=
=
1
1000
10
The water contains less than one coliform per 100 mL, meaning that it is safe for
consumption.

3. An effluent contains ammonia at 9 mg N/L and nitrite at 0.5 mg N/L. How much is that in
NH3 and NO2- in mg/L?
0.009 1 0.000643 17.03 3 0.011
3

=
= 11

14

0.0005

0.000036 46 2 0.0016
2

=
= 1.6

14

The effluent contains 11 mg ammonia and 1.6 mg nitrite per liter.

4. How many grams of H2SO4 is needed to create a 200 mL of 0.1 N H2SO4 solution? What
is the molarity of that solution?
H2SO4 possess 2 equivalent per mole, because 1 mole creates 2 H+
So, a 1 mole/L solution has two equivalents/L and would be a 2 N solution
For a 0.1 N solution,

= 0.1

= 0.1

2 0.1
=

Divide by 2 equivalent/mole (or multiply by 1 mole / 2 equivalent)

2
1
0.1
1

2
0.05
=

For a 0.1 N solution of H2SO4, you need a 0.05 mole/L solution (which makes sense, since
there is two equivalent per mole, so you need half of the number of mole to obtain the same
amount of functional units)

To determine how many grams are needed for 200 mL of a 0.05 mole/L. The molar weight of
H2SO4 is 98.079 g/mole
0.05 98.079 0.0049

=
200 = 0.98
1000

0.98 g are needed for a 200 mL solution of 0.1 N H2SO4

5. Formaldehyde is commonly found in the indoor air of improperly designed and constructed
buildings. If the concentration of formaldehyde in a home is 0.7 ppmv, and the inside
volume is 800 m3, what mass (in gram) of formaldehyde vapor is inside the home? (T=25oC
and P=1 atm). The molecular weight of formaldehyde is 30.

Known:
P = 1 atm
Temperature = 25oC = 298 K
Concentration of formaldehyde = 0.7 ppmv
Volume = 800 m3
M.W. of formaldehyde = 30 g/mole

Searching for:
[formaldehyde] in g/m3

Step 1: Convert volume of formaldehyde to moles of formaldehyde using the ideal gas law:

0.7 3
1 =
106 3
Since, from the ideal gas law, =

, so we multiply the volume of formaldehyde

(1m3) by P/RT to obtain the number of moles

0.7 3
0.7 3 .

106 3

106 3

1

1 3
0.08206
1000 298

= 2.86 105 3
Knowing the amount of moles and the molar weight, the mass of formaldehyde for 800 m3 can
be calculated:
2.86 105 30

800 3 = 0.687
3

There will be 0.687 g of formaldehyde in 800 m3 of air.