question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
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question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
In today's lecture recording (Week 1 Monday) for Lecture 3, there was an example given about Determining Solution Concentration, where the answer was 9.87x10^-3 Liters. Professor Lavelle stated that in a lab, we would not report the answer in liters but instead convert it into millimeters. So during an exam if a similar problem is given, should students be expected to report answers in terms of Liters, or milliliters? Or would the question clarify the units to used for our answers?
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
That's a really good question. I'm honestly not sure, but I would think we answer the questions in liters since that's what Professor Lavelle did in his example. If not, I'm sure they will clarify if they want a specific unit used on homework or exams.
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
I would imagine we should probably put it in Liters first, since thats what the formula for molarity demands. It probably wouldn't hurt to put both, and I would double check with your TA, but I think I'm going to at least put liters.
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
I think the reason Professor Lavelle reported it into milliliters is because, in a lab setting, it would be a lot easier and more accurate to measure the solution in milliliters rather than in liters. The number is so small that if liters were used to measure the solution, it would not be feasible to get an accurate measurement.
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
I believe we would out our answer in Liters, since it is the base unit. Unless the problem specifically specifies the that the answer should be in mL or any other unit, I would say stick to L. In a lab setting, things like beakers and test tubes are usually measured in mL which is probably why he mentioned that. But for any homework questions, we should keep our calculations in Liters since that's what the molarity equation requires.
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
We would normally report liters as that is the SI unit for volume. However, as Dr. Lavelle mentioned, in the lab, it would be easier to measure in milliliters. As a safe bet, I would always put liters unless the question asks for milliliters.
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
I feel like most of the time the desired units will clearly be indicated. But for the most part, just leave the answer in units that you were given with. For example, if in the original question liters were used, keep your final answer in liters to be safe.
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Re: question about Week 1 Monday Lecture recording
I assume that you would answer in whatever units were given. For instance, if the units were given in L, you would answer with L. However, it would be unrealistic to answer with liters in a lab setting, so if the question doesn't simply ask what the final volume is, but instead asks you something like "how much volume would you pour in the flask," I assume you would answer with milliliters.
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