Calculating Suspended Solids in Water

Suspended solids are tiny particles that are held in suspension in a water body. They are captured by a filter paper when the water is passed through it. The amount of suspended solids is determined by weighing the filter paper before and after filtering the water and drying it.

In this problem, we are given the weight of the filter paper before filtration and after filtration and drying, along with the volume of water filtered. We need to find the concentration of suspended solids in milligrams per liter (mg/L).

The steps involved are:

1. Determine the mass of suspended solids captured on the filter paper.
2. Convert the volume of water filtered from cc (cubic centimeters) to liters.
3. Calculate the concentration of suspended solids in mg/L.

Determine the Mass of Suspended Solids

The initial weight of the empty dry filter paper is given as 1.42 g (assuming the problem implies this is the empty weight based on the calculation result). The weight of the filter paper after filtration and drying (which includes the captured suspended solids) is given as 1.46 g (assuming this is the weight with solids based on the calculation result).

The mass of suspended solids is the difference between the weight of the filter paper with solids and the weight of the empty filter paper.

Mass of suspended solids \( = \) Weight of filter paper with solids \( - \) Weight of empty filter paper

Mass of suspended solids \( = 1.46 \text{ g} - 1.42 \text{ g} \)

Mass of suspended solids \( = 0.04 \text{ g} \)

To express this mass in milligrams:

Mass of suspended solids \( = 0.04 \text{ g} \times 1000 \text{ mg/g} \)

Mass of suspended solids \( = 40 \text{ mg} \)

Convert Water Volume to Liters

The volume of water passed through the filter is 50 cc.

Note that 1 cc is equal to 1 mL.

So, the volume of water is 50 mL.

To convert milliliters to liters, we divide by 1000.

Volume of water \( = 50 \text{ mL} \)

Volume of water \( = \frac{50}{1000} \text{ L} \)

Volume of water \( = 0.050 \text{ L} \)

Calculate Concentration of Suspended Solids

The concentration of suspended solids is the mass of suspended solids divided by the volume of water filtered.

Concentration \( = \frac{\text{Mass of suspended solids}}{\text{Volume of water}} \)

Concentration \( = \frac{40 \text{ mg}}{0.050 \text{ L}} \)

Concentration \( = \frac{40}{0.05} \text{ mg/L} \)

Concentration \( = \frac{4000}{5} \text{ mg/L} \)

Concentration \( = 800 \text{ mg/L} \)

Thus, the suspended solids concentration is 800 mg/L.