Questions tagged [units]
For questions about the definition and usage of units of measurement.
170
questions
-2
votes
1answer
68 views
Would 10.0 mL of water at 10 °C have the same mass as 10.0 mL of water at 25 °C? [closed]
I am reading a book and it gives the following answer:
No, the density of water changes with
temperature. 10.0 mL of water at 10 °C would
have a higher mass than 10.0 mL of water at
25 °C because the ...
3
votes
1answer
170 views
Why are these two methods of converting from ppm to g/m3 equivalent?
I've found two methods to convert from $ppm$ to $g/m^3$. They both appear to give equivalent results, but I don't understand why. Can anyone join the dots for me and explain why they are equivalent ...
18
votes
1answer
3k views
How much is 1 mμg?
So I stumbled on a research paper by Okuda and Takedatsu [1] that uses mμg as a symbol for the mass unit.
I couldn't find anything about this measure unit anywhere except a recommendation not to use ...
0
votes
2answers
54 views
Is 1% m/m the same as 1% w/w?
Hydrocortisone cream seems to be sold as 1% w/w, but my cream is 1% m/m, which is confusing. Are they the same units or the same concentrations?
1
vote
1answer
65 views
What is the 'electronic energy', in units of 'negative' hartrees, of a molecule?
On a NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) page on the molecular details of water and it's various isotopologues, I came across this:
Electronic energy: -76.4089547246 hartree
There ...
6
votes
5answers
714 views
Why do the units of rate constants change, and what does that physically mean?
Just to be clear, I do understand that the units of the rate constant k is selected to make the equation dimensionally consistent. That is not what I am asking.
It should be the case that k 'means' ...
0
votes
0answers
27 views
When multiple sources give the content of an ingredient my an unqualified percentage, can I safely assume this is by weight? Or; it's not a wart
I am trying to make a simple scented shampoo and body soap for my own use and for Christmas gifts.
I statr with a base of 32 oz – (a bit under a kg) of a mild commercial castille soap (Dr. Bronner’s ...
2
votes
2answers
93 views
What is the difference in mosM and mOsm units, if there is any at all?
I'm reading Agre's paper on aquaporins [1] and he uses a unit called "mosM" throughout the paper, for example:
… ocytes were transferred from 200 mosM to 70 mosM modified Barth's buffer.
I ...
6
votes
0answers
95 views
Help with Forster distance conversion for FRET
For my project on Fluorescence, I'm trying to simplify the equation for the Forster distance (I obtained this from the Lakowicz book). To keep track, the units are in square brackets.
$$R_0 = \left(\...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Why does osmolarity take into account both penetrating and non-penetrating solutes?
According to Wikipedia:
… osmolarity takes into account the total concentration of penetrating solutes and non-penetrating solutes, whereas tonicity takes into account the total concentration of non-...
3
votes
1answer
61 views
Are the units of mole of oxygen molecules the same with the units of mole of nitrogen molecules?
Suppose we have in a box $3 \,{\rm mol}$ $\ce{O}$ and $3 \,{\rm mol}$ $\ce{N}$. Is the addition of these two quantities meaningfull? We do it all the time when we want to find the molar fraction. I ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
Is it accurate to describe these radiation measurement units in terms of where-it's-measured and relationship-to-time?
I'm reading about measuring radiation and trying to come up with a more intuitive retelling for an audience familiar with math but not necessarily chemistry or any physical science. Is any or all of ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the intuition behind 'mol' as a unit 'symbol'
Why are moles written with 'mol' as opposed to something which is easier to write with one character, or even two?
-4
votes
1answer
38 views
Calculate concentration of 10 µM to ng/ml Cannabidol [closed]
I would like to calculate the concentration of 10 µM unit in vitro to blood plasma unit ng/ml?
What formula do I need to use?
Do I need to use molecular weight? In my case, it is 314,47 g/mol for ...
1
vote
0answers
20 views
Thermochemistry: On Units of Enthalpy Change and Implicit Given of Initial Temperature of Calorimeter
I would like to ask two separate questions. But first, so that we are on the same page, the experiment used a constant-pressure calorimeter, and it is a neutralization reaction of 1M of HCl and 1M of ...
3
votes
2answers
121 views
Why is the units of rate constant dependent on the order of the reaction?
In many textbooks, it is written that
For order (m + n), the rate constant, k has units of mol1−(m+n)·L(m+n)−1·s−1
However, by the Arrhenius equation, k can be expressed as
k = PZexp(-Ea/RT)
and ...
18
votes
1answer
1k views
What is a Herzberg?
Whatman lists the flow rates for their filters in a unit called a 'Herzberg':
What is this?
I've been searching around and I did find information about Herzberg flow rate testers, for example this ...
3
votes
2answers
423 views
What is the dimension of Avogadro's constant?
What is the dimension of Avogadro's constant ($N_\mathrm{A}$).
On Wikipedia it says it is dimensionless, but in Nigel Wheatley's article (pdf) On the dimensionality of the Avogadro constant and the ...
7
votes
1answer
819 views
What is the unit of Z effective?
Z effective is the net positive charge experienced by an electron. But what is the unit of this net charge: coulomb (C) or microcoulomb (μC), or something else?
1
vote
1answer
704 views
Are atomic mass unit (amu), unified mass unit (u) and Dalton (Da) the same unit but with different names? [duplicate]
I recently read up on some chemistry and found these units of mass:
atomic mass unit (amu)
unified atomic mass unit (u)
Dalton (Da)
Are they all the same unit but just with different names or are ...
4
votes
1answer
141 views
Heat Transfer Coefficient Problem
The Problem
An unusual reference gives the formula below for the heat transfer coefficient of an emulsion.
$$H = 0.0061\left(X^{0.6} + 0.038T\right)\cdot V^{0.35}$$
In the formula $T$ is the ...
-1
votes
2answers
45 views
Calculating the molar volume of a perfect gas under standard ambient temperature and pressure [duplicate]
I am trying to calculate the molar volume of a perfect gas under standard ambient temperature and pressure, but I'm having problems with the units.
$$\begin{align} V_m = \dfrac{RT}{p} &= \dfrac{(8....
0
votes
1answer
395 views
Why is gas pressure measured in mmHg?
Pressure can be measured in $\pu{mmHg}$ which is equal to the pressure exerted by a “column of mercury” of a height expressed in $\pu{mm},$ at $\pu{0 °C}$ under Earth’s normal gravity.
Does the ...
-1
votes
1answer
31 views
Should I relate the number of moles between substances when converting weight units?
Good day! I graduated from an undergrad degree of chemistry almost 3 years ago but I'm frustrated that I fail to reconcile these things:
In gravimetric analysis, to get the correct amount for the ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
Question on notation
Here, when they write $v/(\mathrm{mol\ s^{-1}\ (kg\ \text{protein})^{-1}})$ is $0.30$ for the first row first column, do they mean that the value is $0.30\ \mathrm{mol\ s^{-1}\ (kg\ \text{protein})^{-...
-2
votes
1answer
33 views
Problem with determining the mass value of a soil sample for gravimetric calculations [closed]
I'm having some trouble with how to determine the representative mass value of a prepared soil sample for calculating its $\ce{Cl-}$ concentration in ppm (mg/kg).
Recently I carried out a gravimetric ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Can someone intuitively explain the reason for the units of entropy (J/K )? [duplicate]
If entropy is just a measure of the "randomness" or "chaos" of a system, then why does it have specific units. What is the reason behind the units of entropy being J/K?
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Difference between “physical quantities” and “units”?
My textbook, Atkins' Physical Chemistry, 11th edition, by Atkins, de Paula, and Keeler, says the following:
Although it is good practice to use only SI units, there will be occasions where accepted ...
-3
votes
3answers
1k views
How many mg caffeine is 1mM caffeine?
I am finding some articles about caffeine consumption confusing, because they test in units of mM instead of mg.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25342885/
Wikipedia says that the molar mass ...
-3
votes
1answer
75 views
What is the equivalence of 40 ppt to pg/mL? [closed]
Please help me converting 40 ppt to pg/mL. I have tried an online calculator and done it manually and there are differences. I`m aware that ppt can be used as parts per trillion or per thousand but I ...
1
vote
1answer
124 views
Up to which dilution can one assume that 1 mg/l = 1 ppm?
For aqueous solutions it is often assumed that 1 milligram per liter equals 1 ppm. Are there any guidelines up to which concentration this shortcut is admissible?
Are there any formulas which ...
3
votes
3answers
504 views
Can I express the rate of a reaction as percent per second (%/s)?
Rate is calculated as change in concentration over change in time, so usually $\pu{M/s}$ $(\pu{mol L-1 s-1}).$
Say, I'm calculating it for $20\%$ solution of ammonium hydroxide, so my final rate is ...
4
votes
2answers
263 views
Regarding units of water potential and chemical potential
If water potential is nothing but the chemical potential of a given solution, then why do their units differ?
If the unit for the latter is taken as 'Energy per molecule' (which makes sense to me ...
2
votes
3answers
292 views
About the use of pascal or atmosphere in chemistry
I was wondering if there are specific formulae in chemistry for which it is "compulsory" or convenient to use atmosphere (atm) rather than pascal (or even mmHg) as a unit of measurement.
Of course, ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
What is the use of both mol and mass representing the same thing i.e. amount of something? [closed]
A mol is a unit but also has a magnitude. How can a unit have a magnitude? And if mole is used to measure an amount of substance than what does mass measure?
0
votes
1answer
969 views
Meaning of mass concentration “units” % m/v [closed]
In a saline solution that is 5.750% (m/v) potassium iodide $(\ce{KI}),$ there are:
a) 5.750 mL $\ce{KI}$ per 100.0 mL $\ce{H2O}$
b) 575.0 mg $\ce{KI}$ per 10.00 mL of $\ce{KI}$ solution
c) 5.750 g $\...
1
vote
0answers
24 views
Interlayer binding energy: how to convert to meV/Ų?
I've noticed that in most papers the interlayer binding energy is given in units of meV/Ų. But how do I get these units? Do I divide the interlayer binding energy I get by the area of my unit cell?
3
votes
1answer
531 views
How is the ln k term in the linearised Arrhenius equation acceptable?
In my syllabus we only study about rate laws under the topic "Rates of reactions", but as I was interested in it, I started to search about that topic. And then I found the Arrhenius equation
$$\ln k ...
1
vote
1answer
470 views
Units of the rate constant for reactions whose order is greater than 1
In many textbooks, it is written that:
The value of rate constant depends on the nature of the reactants, temperature and catalyst. It is independent of the concentration of the reactants.
However,...
5
votes
1answer
226 views
Why the term 'unified' in “unified mass unit”? [closed]
Why different unit symbols - amu, u and dalton are used for representing atomic mass? And what does the term 'unified' mean in "unified mass unit"?
Thank you.
4
votes
2answers
640 views
Why is the equilibrium constant unitless?
I read that the equilibrium constant is unitless because the molar activities of each of the species are used in the equilibrium expression, not the actual concentrations themselves. I understand that....
4
votes
0answers
189 views
What does “at%” mean and how it differs from “mol%”?
Sorry if my question is a bit obvious, but for some reason I'm getting confused with the percentages in this question:
Concentration of $\ce{A}$ is $\pu{80 at\%}$ and concentration of $\ce{B}$ is $...
1
vote
3answers
161 views
Soil conductivity: How do I get a near equivalent between meq/100 g to mS/cm?
I have two soil reports, one that reports CEC as 45 meq/100 g and another that reports 6 mS/cm using 1:1 water soil.
I can see that the two are, if not apples and oranges, they are at best tangerines ...
9
votes
3answers
5k views
Can Rydberg constant be in joules?
In my textbook (Chemistry Part - I for Class XI published by NCERT), there is an equation for the energy of an electron in an energy state: $$E_n = -R_\mathrm H\left(\frac{1}{n^2}\right)$$ and there ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
How do I convert salinity measured in mg/L Cl into parts per thousand as NaCl?
I have collected water data using a refractometer that records salinity in ‰ (parts per thousand) as $\ce{NaCl}$. I want to compare my data to other data but every journal article I read has the ...
2
votes
2answers
170 views
How will the periodic table change due to redefinition of the kilogram (May 2019)?
The definition of a kilogram has recently been changed. What effect, if any, will this change have on data on the periodic table?
2
votes
1answer
428 views
Barron states that 4.18×10⁸ joules equal 1 kcal, is this correct?
Here is a paragraph in Barron's SAT chemistry prep book:
Work itself is measured in Joules, and so is energy. In some problems, however, energy may be expressed in kilocalories. The relationship ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
How are lowercase k and uppercase K used in general chemistry courses? [closed]
Where do lowercase k and uppercase K make appearances in general chemistry, and what do they signify?
0
votes
2answers
6k views
How are lowercase m and uppercase M used in general chemistry courses? [closed]
Where do lowercase m and uppercase M make appearances in general chemistry, and what do they signify?
3
votes
1answer
340 views
IUPAC Recommendations for Concentration Units (ppb, ppm)
In a recent interesting post, (Is 1 ppb equal to 1 μg/kg?)
it was pointed out that IUPAC advises to abandon parts per million, parts per billion quantities and instead it suggests to employ micromole/ ...
