Question

A sailor on a trans-Pacific solo voyage notices one day that if he puts 735.mL of fresh water into a plastic cup weighing 25.0g, the cup floats in the seawater around his boat with the fresh water inside the cup at exactly the same level as the seawater outside the cup (see sketch at right).
Calculate the amount of salt dissolved in each liter of seawater. Be sure your answer has a unit symbol, if needed, and round it to 2 significant digits.

You'll need to know that the density of fresh water at the temperature of the sea around the sailor is 0.999/gcm3. You'll also want to remember Archimedes' Principle, that objects float when they displace a mass of water equal to their own mass.

Answer 1

Answer:

Amount of salt in 1 L seawater = 34 g

Explanation:

According to Archimedes' principle, mass of freshwater and cup = mass of equal volume of seawater

mass of freshwater = density * volume

1 cm³ = 1 mL

mass of freshwater = 0.999 g/cm³ * 735 cm³ = 734.265 g

mass of freshwater + cup = 734.265 + 25 = 759.265 g

Therefore,  mass of equal volume of seawater = 759.265 g

Volume of seawater displaced = 735 mL = 0.735 L (assuming the cup volume is negligible)

1 liter = 1000 cm³ = 1000 mL;

Density of seawater = mass / volume

Density of seawater = 759.265 g / 0.735 L = 1033.01 g/L

Density of freshwater in g/L = 0.999 g/ (1/1000) L = 999 g/L

mass of 1 Liter seawater = 1033.01 g

mass of 1 Liter freshwater = 999 g

mass of salt dissolved in 1 L of seawater = 1033.01 g - 999 g = 34.01 g

Therefore, amount of salt in 1 L seawater = 34 g