Final answer:
To dilute 5 liters of a water-soluble liquid waste to a specified concentration percentage, one would add the necessary volume of water to make up 100 parts of solution. For a 10% solution, you would add 45 liters of water to the 5 liters of waste, resulting in 50 liters of total solution. This process ensures safe disposal of hazardous materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Solution Concentrations
In hazardous materials practice, the disposal company can take liquid waste only if it is diluted to a certain concentration. The concentration of a solution can be expressed as a percentage, which is simply the number of parts of solute per 100 parts of solution. To dilute 5 liters of a water-soluble liquid waste to a 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% solution, one would need to calculate the total volume of solution required and then add the appropriate volume of water to the waste.
As an example, if a 10% solution were needed, you would have 5 liters of liquid waste making up 10% of the total solution. To find the total solution volume (V), use the formula for percentage concentration: volume of solute (5 liters) divided by the desired percent in decimal form (0.10), which would give us a total volume V = 5 / 0.10 = 50 liters. Therefore, one would need to add 45 liters of water to the 5 liters of waste to achieve a 10% solution.
This mathematical approach is essential in situations where accurate dilutions of hazardous materials are required to ensure safe disposal practices. Employing the correct calculations can ensure that the chemicals or waste are not too concentrated, posing less of a threat to the environment and human health.