Question

A recycler has been collecting mercury and is now ready to ship it to another facility for it to be purified and reused in specialized long-life batteries. If they have collected 4.052 L of liquid mercury, what will be the mass (in kilograms) of their shipment (ignoring the shipping crate)? The density of mercury is 13.6 g/cm3.

Answer 1

To find the mass of the shipment of liquid mercury, you can use the formula:

Mass (g) = Volume (L) x Density (g/cm³)

First, you need to convert the given density of mercury from g/cm³ to g/L to match the volume unit:

Density of mercury = 13.6 g/cm³ = 13.6 g/1 cm³

Now, calculate the mass:

Mass (g) = Volume (L) x Density (g/L)
Mass (g) = 4.052 L x (13.6 g/1 cm³)

Next, you need to convert cm³ to L because 1 L is equivalent to 1000 cm³:

Mass (g) = 4.052 L x (13.6 g/1000 cm³)

Now, calculate the mass in grams:

Mass (g) = 4.052 L x (13.6 g/1000 cm³) = 0.0550912 g

Finally, convert the mass from grams to kilograms by dividing by 1000 (since 1 kg = 1000 g):

Mass (kg) = 0.0550912 g / 1000 = 0.0000550912 kg

So, the mass of their shipment of liquid mercury is approximately 0.0000551 kg.