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An average adult has about 5.0 L of blood. Every milliliter of blood is approximately 5.0 x 109 erythrocytes (red blood cells) and every erythrocyte has 2.8 x 108 hemoglobin molecules. Calculate the number of hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood.

User Fathima Km
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2 Answers

5 votes

Final answer:

To calculate the number of hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood, multiply the number of erythrocytes per milliliter by the volume in milliliters and then by the number of hemoglobin molecules per erythrocyte. The result is 7.0 x 10^21 hemoglobin molecules.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the total number of hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood, we need to know two pieces of information: the number of red blood cells (erythrocytes) per milliliter of blood and the number of hemoglobin molecules per erythrocyte.

Firstly, we have the data that there are approximately 5.0 x 109 erythrocytes per milliliter of blood. Now, since there are 1,000 milliliters (mL) in 1 liter (L), we can determine the total number of erythrocytes in 5.0 L of blood:

5.0 x 109 erythrocytes/mL x 5,000 mL = 2.5 x 1013 erythrocytes

Secondly, each erythrocyte has about 2.8 x 108 hemoglobin molecules. Thus, to find the total number of hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood we multiply the total number of erythrocytes by the number of hemoglobin molecules per erythrocyte:

2.5 x 1013 erythrocytes x 2.8 x 108 hemoglobin molecules/erythrocyte = 7.0 x 1021 hemoglobin molecules.

Therefore, there are 7.0 x 1021 hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood.

User Amit Jayant
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4 votes

Answer:

7.0 x 10²¹ hemoglobin molecules

Step-by-step explanation:

Volume of blood = 5.0 L = 5,000 mL

Concentration of erythrocytes in blood = 5.0 x 10⁹ erythrocytes/mL

Concentration of hemoglobin in erythrocytes = 2.8 x 10⁸ molecules/erythrocytes

The number of hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood is given by:


N= 5,000\ mL*(5.0 * 10^9)(erythrocytes)/(mL)* (2.8 * 10^8)(molecules)/(erythrocytes)\\N= 7.0*10^(21)\ molecules

There are approximately 7.0 x 10²¹ hemoglobin molecules in 5.0 L of blood.

User Audun Kjelstrup
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