Question

Vanillin (used to flavour vanilla ice cream and other foods) is the substance whose aroma the human nose detects in the smallest amount. The threshold limit is 2.0 x 10-11 gram per liter of air. If the current price of 50 g of vanillin is $112, determine the cost to supply enough vanillin so that the aroma could be detectable in a large aircraft hangar of volume 5.0 x 107 ft3.

Answer 1

The cost is $0.063.

Step-by-step explanation:

First, we need to express the volume of the hangar in liters. We know that 1 ft³ = 28.31 L, so using proportions:

`5.0 * 10^(7) ft^(3) .(28.31L)/(1ft^(3) ) =1.4 * 10^(9) L`

The amount of vanillin required would be:

`1.4 * 10^(9) L.(2.0* 10^(-11)g )/(1L) =0.028g`

Finally, the price for such amount of vanillin is:

`0.028g.( \textdollar 112)/(50g)=  \textdollar 0.063`