College

Toxicologists use the term LD50 to describe the number of grams of a substance per kilogram of body weight that is a lethal dose for 50 percent of test animals.

Calculate the number of arsenic(III) oxide molecules corresponding to an LD50 value of 0.0146 for a 187-lb man, assuming that the test animals and humans have the same LD50.

Answer :

Answer:-

3.77 x 10²¹ arsenic(iii) oxide molecules correspond to an LD50 value of 0.0146 for a 187 lb man

Explanation: -

Weight of man = 187 lb

= [tex]\frac{187 lb}{2.2 lb} x 1 kg[/tex]

= 84.8 Kg

LD50 = number of grams of a substance that is lethal to 50% of animals per kilogram of body weight

0.0146 = [tex]\frac{number of grams }{Weight of man in kg}[/tex]

Thus

Number of grams of lethal substance = 0.0146 x 84.8

= 1.24 g

Molar mass of arsenic(iii) oxide = 197.841 g/mol

Number of moles of arsenic(iii) oxide = [tex]\frac{Mass}{Molar mass}[/tex]

= [tex]\frac{1.24}{197.841}[/tex]

= 0.00627 moles

Number of molecules of arsenic(iii) oxide = Number of moles x Avogadro number

= 0.00627 x 6.02 x 10²³

= 3.77 x 10²¹

Final answer:

To calculate the number of arsenic(III) oxide molecules corresponding to an LD50 value for a 187-pound man, convert the man's weight to kilograms, find the lethal dose in grams, convert this to moles using the molar mass of As₂O₃, and then calculate the number of molecules using Avogadro's number, resulting in approximately 3.767 × 1021 molecules.

Explanation:

To calculate the number of arsenic(III) oxide molecules corresponding to an LD50 value of 0.0146 for a 187-pound man, assuming that the test animals and humans have the same LD50, follow these steps:

Convert the man's weight from pounds to kilograms. 1 pound is approximately 0.453592 kilograms. Hence, 187 pounds is approximately 84.821 kilograms.

Multiply the LD50 value by the man's weight in kilograms to find the lethal dose in grams: 0.0146 g/kg × 84.821 kg = 1.2384 grams.

To find the number of molecules, convert the mass of arsenic(III) oxide to moles using its molecular weight (As₂O₃ has a molar mass of approximately 197.84 g/mol), and then multiply by Avogadro's number (6.022 × 1023 molecules/mol).
1.2384 g ÷ 197.84 g/mol = 0.006258 mol × 6.022 × 1023 molecules/mol = 3.767 × 1021 molecules of arsenic(III) oxide.

This calculation shows the number of molecules of arsenic(III) oxide corresponding to the LD50 for a 187-pound man.