Chemistry 301 - PROBLEM SET #5 - ANSWERS

1) How many bacteria would be produced after ten hours, starting with two cells, if growth is
exponential (log phase) and the generation time is 20 minutes?
There are two approaches to this problem:
One is to determine the number of generations (# generations = total time/generation time) and to
let the population double that many times: 2(# generations), but remember that you started with 2
cells, so N = 2x2(# generations)
In this case, # generations = 10(hr)/20(min) x 60min/hr = 30,
so N = 2x230 = 2.15 x 109 cells
The second approach is to use the equations given in class:
First calculate the growth constant from the generation time:
Generation time (t) = ln 2/k = 0.692/k, so k = (0.692)/(generation time)
k = (0.692)/(20 min) (60 min/hr) = 2.08/hr
Then calculate the number of cells (N) from N = N0ekt
N = 2e(2.08/hr x 10hr) = 2.15 x 109 cells

2) If a pesticide is found to degrade in the environment with a half life of 2 days, do you need to
be concerned with possible side effects of this pesticide two weeks after application?
After 2 weeks, 7 half lives will have passed, leaving the concentration of the pesticide (2)7 or 128
times lower than the initial concentration - over 99% would have degraded. This information is
insufficient, however, in determining the possible problems which may exist. For one, the initial
concentration may have been high enough that the pesticide could still present a risk when less
than 1% remains. Another possibility is that the degradation products are still toxic, and they
may persist in the environment longer than the original pesticide.

3) A radioisotope has a nuclear half-life of 24 hours and a biological half-life of 16 hours (half of
the element is eliminated from the body in 16 hours). If a person who ingested this isotope has
a whole body count rate of 1000 counts per minute at time 0, what is the body's count rate after
16 hours?

Count Rate = -dN/dt = Activity = A = Ao (e-λ1t)(e-λ2t), where λ = ln2/t1/2

Nuclear decay: λ1 = (ln2)/(24hr) = 0.0288/hr, λ1t = 0.462
Biological elimination: λ2 = (ln2)/(16hr) = 0.0433/hr, λ2t = 0.693
After 16 hours, A = 1000 (e-λ1t)(e-λ2t) = 1000 (0.63)(0.5) = 315 counts per minute

4) Which chemical compounds cause acid rain?

Sulfur oxides (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the atmosphere, which are converted to H2SO4,
H2SO3 and HNO3 - all strong acids – are the main contributors. To some extent, carbon dioxide
(CO2), which is a weak acid, is also a contributor.
5) What is the chemical structure of a soap? A detergent? What problems arise when these are
used in areas where the water is hard?

Soaps are salts of fatty acids, where the acid is weak - the head is a carboxylate group. Detergents,
on the other hand are salt of fatty acids, where the acid is strong. There are many options for the
hydrophilic functional group (the head), but it is not a carboxylate group (sulfonate, sulfate,
phosphate and nitrate). Soaps form scum, an insoluble precipitate, when complexed with Ca in
hard water, which reduces their effectiveness, but detergents do not. Thus detergents are better for
laundry in regions with hard water.

6) A chlorination facility is built to the specification that the residence time of the water in the
chlorination tank should be 20 minutes, and that 3.0 x 106 litres per hour of finished water
can be produced. Calculate how large the chlorination tank should be (give volume and
possible dimensions). At what rate should chlorine be added to the tank if the finished water
is to have a chlorine residual of 1.0 ppm and the incoming water has a chlorine demand of
0.48 ppm

Residence time, τ = Inventory/Rate

Inventory = τ (Rate)
Rate = Inventory/τ

Size of Tank:
need to know inventory of water = (20 min) (3.0 x 106 L/hr) (1 hr/60 min)
= 1.0 x 106 L
possible dimensions:
1L = 1000mL = 1000 cm3
1.0 x 106 L = 1.0 x 109 cm3 = 1000 m3
One possible container: 10m x 10m x 10m cube
Or, a cylinder with radius 5m (diameter 10m), and height 12.7 m:
Volume = Area x Height = hπr2 = h(3.142)(5)2 = 1000 m3
h = 1000 m3/78.54 m2 =12.7 m

Rate of Cl2 addition to have 1.0 ppm chlorine residual, when chlorine demand is 0.48 ppm?

Dose = Demand + Residual = 0.48 + 1.00 = 1.48 ppm = 1.48 mg/kg = 1.48 mg/L

Total chlorine in tank (Inventory) = (1.48 mg/L) (1.0 x 106 L) = 1.48 kg

Rate = Inventory/τ = (1.48 kg)/(0.333 hr) = 4.44 kg Cl2/hr