1. Concentration & Solutions – Part 2
How do we talk about them?

2. Parts per million (ppm)
(%) Per cent: out of a hundred
Per million: out of a million
1 million parts (pieces of pie)
1 part contaminated = 1 ppm
1 part contaminated + 999,999 normal parts
8 parts (pieces of pie)
1 part contaminated = 1 part per 8

3. What does 1 ppm look like? 1 drop of water in 50 L
~30 seconds in a year
1 penny in $10 000

4. Real-life examples 1 ppm of chlorine in a pool to kill bacteria
4 ppm of oxygen needed for fish in ocean water
0.01 ppm of arsenic allowed in tap water
0.05 ppm insecticide (chlorpyrifos) allowed in bananas
What are the “parts”?

5. ppm in mass = = = 1 g 1 000 000 g 1 mg 1 000 g 1 ppm
1 mg solute
1 kg solution
1 ppm = = =
1 ppm of chlorine in a pool
1 mg in 1 kg of pool water
60 ppm of contaminant in soil
60 mg in 1 kg of soil
We can smell H2S at 0.1 ppm concentration in air
0.1 mg in 1 kg of air

6. 1. Solution A has a concentration of 0
1. Solution A has a concentration of 0.65 mg/kg and Solution B has a concentration of g/kg. What are their concentrations in ppm?

7. 2. An 800 g sample of soil from a yard contains 5. 3 g of pollutant
2. An 800 g sample of soil from a yard contains 5.3 g of pollutant. What is the concentration of pollutant in ppm?

8. 3. Another 650 g sample of soil has a pollutant concentration of 7 ppm
3. Another 650 g sample of soil has a pollutant concentration of 7 ppm. How much pollutant is in the soil sample?

9. 4. Whole wheat bread has 850 ppm of magnesium
4. Whole wheat bread has 850 ppm of magnesium. How much magnesium is in 1 slice of bread, if one slice has a mass of 30 g?

10. ppm for aqueous solutions
# parts of solute in 1 million parts of solution
** Solution often substituted for water
1 g mL
1 g
1 000 L
1 mg
1 L
1 ppm = = = =
1 mg solute
1 L solution (water)

11. ppm for aqueous solutions
# parts of solute in 1 million parts of solution
1 mg solute
1 L solution (water)
1 ppm =
4 ppm of oxygen needed for fish in ocean water
4 g oxygen in 1 L of ocean water
0.01 ppm of arsenic allowed in tap water
0.01 g of arsenic in 1 L of tap water

12. 1. The Gatorade “Thirst Quencher” has approximately 51 mg/L of potassium. What is the concentration of potassium in ppm?

13. 2. A solution has a concentration of 1. 25 g/L
2. A solution has a concentration of 1.25 g/L. What is its concentration in ppm?

14. 3. A solution has a concentration of 0. 5 mg/mL
3. A solution has a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. What is its concentration in ppm?

15. 4. Water in a lake is contaminated. A 50 mL sample has 4
4. Water in a lake is contaminated. A 50 mL sample has 4.8 mg of contaminant. What is the concentration in ppm?

16. Steps to follow to answer ppm questions
Write out what values the question gives you
Write out the ppm equation
Ensure the values are in the correct units and convert if necessary
Put the values into the equation
Solve the equation
Answer the question in a sentence mg L
ppm = mg kg
ppm =