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A scientist needs 120 mL of a 20% acid solution for an experiment The lab has available a 10% solution and a 25% solution. How manym ters of the 10% solution and how many misters of the 25% solution should the scientist mox to make the 20% solution?

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Final answer:

To make a 20% acid solution, the scientist needs to mix the 10% and 25% solutions. The scientist can set up an equation using the concentrations and volumes of the two solutions, and solve it to find the values of x and y.

Step-by-step explanation:

To make a 20% acid solution, the scientist needs to mix the 10% and 25% solutions. Let's assume the scientist needs x mL of the 10% solution and y mL of the 25% solution. The total volume of the solution should be 120 mL.

Using the equation of concentration, (concentration1 * volume1 + concentration2 * volume2) / total volume = desired concentration, we can set up the equation as follows:

(0.10 * x + 0.25 * y) / 120 = 0.20

Simplifying the equation will give:

0.10x + 0.25y = 24

The scientist needs to solve this system of equations along with the constraint that the total volume is 120 mL to find the values of x and y.

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