ralionof CommonTypesof ReagentWaterand Desk

ReagentsSpecifiedIn This Book

availableCO,-removingagent.'
c. Redistilled warer. Prepare by redisrE at?PrcPsrcrcagcnt-8rade tilling single-distilcd watcr frorn an allor quartz distillatiol ap; Dfutilld w8ter oual- borosilicate.glass
paratus.
lhc typc of stiu and quality
d. Deionizeddistilled paler. Slowly pass
distilledwater through a 25-cmcolumn of
glasstubing (l lo 2.5 cm in diameter)that
roducc
has beenchargedwith 2 parts by volume
resin in
of a stronglybasicanion-exchange
part
volume
hydroxyl
form
and
I
by
the
spocificanalyses,including frcedomfrom of a strongly acidic cation-exchange
resrn
significant lcvels of intcrfcrenceand the in the hydrogenform. Use ion-exchange
resinsof a quality suitable for analytical
cosstitucnt being determined.
b. &rbon dioxide-frce distilled water: work. Units using such resins in flowthrough sequencecan produce water of
Prcparc frcsh as neededby boiling distilled
very high quality and are availablecomwatcr for 15 min and cooling rapidly to
mercially.
room tcEperature.ErcludeCO: entry during cooling snd storage with a tub con'As.aril., Fislc. ScicnrificCo; Carcin., A. H Thomat
soda lime or a commercially

Waler
.fypesof Reagont

T ^ a r E A . P R E pA R A TIoNoF U N IFoR M A C ID S oLU Ttoi s.

Dcsircd Componen!

Spccilicgravity (20l4'C) of ACS-grad

concacid
Perccntof activc ingrcdienlin conc
ragcnt
Noreality of cooc rcrtcnt
Yoluec (dL) of cooc &agcnt to
Ftldr. I L oC
I trv lolulion
6rVrolutioo
LV lolutiotr
Ol,V 3olution
Volumc(mL) of 6l{ r.a8cnr to prcparc
I L of 0.ljy solutiofl
Voludc (mL) of ll{ rclgcnt to prcparc
I L of 0.02-fi'solution

Hydrochloric
Acid (HCl)
1 . 1 7 4L- 1 8 9
l6-17
ll-1 2

Sulfuric
Acid (H:SO.)
1.834-1.816
96-98
36

Nitric Acid
(HNO,)

1.409-1.418
69-70
l5-16

."rd
5m(l + r)t

5m ( l + l)r
167( 1 + 5)i

83(l + lr)t
8.3

28
2.8

ll

11

20

20

380
64

t7

.A.ll.vrlu.. rpproriff r..

lTbc d + , rylt D of 3p.citIDt pr.parrlory volumd app.aB fr.qu.ntly thro!8hour rhis manualand E6s rh.r
3 volum.. of rh. conc.ntnrcd rg.nr .r. dilur.d wirh , voluns of distillcdwar.r to fom rh. rcquir.d slltion.

Acid Solutions

dicated in Table B in Co,-free distillcd

Preparethe followingreagentsby cau- waterand diluting to 1000mL.
Store NaOH solutionsin polyerhylene
tiouslyaddingrequiredamountof concen(rigid, hcavy-type) bottles with polytrated acid, with mixing, to designated
bottles
volumeof proper type of distilledwater. ethylenescrewcaps,paraffrn-coated
with
rubber
or
neoprene
stoppers,
or boDilute to 1000mL and mix thoroughly.
rosilicatc-glassbottles \tlth rubbr or
See Table A for preparationof HCl,
neoprene
stoppers.
ChecksolutioosperiodH:SO., and HNO, solutions.
ically.Protectthemby aitachinga tubeof
COlabsorbinggranularmaterialsuch as
AlkalineSolutions
sodalime or a commercially
availableCO,a. Stocksodiumhydroxide,NaOH, l5N
(for preparing6.N,l.\', and0.llf solutions): removingagent.r Use at least 70 cm of
rubbertubingto minimizevapordilTusion
Cautiouslydissolve625 g solid NaOH in
from bottle.Replaceabsorption
tubebefore
800 mL distilledwaterto form I L of soWithdraw solution
it becomesexhausted.
lution. Removcsodiumcarbonatcprecipby a siphonto avoidopeningbottle
itate by keepingsolution at thc boiling
b. Ammonium hydroxide solutions:
point for a few hou.s in a hot waterbath
NH.OH: Prepare 5.[t, 3I', and 0.2,\
or by lettingparticlessettlefor at least48
NH.OH solutionsby diluting 333mL, 200
h in an alkali-resistant
container(waxJined
mL, and 13 mL, respectively,
ofthe conor polyethylene)protectedfrom atmos(spgr 0.90,29.07o,l5li)
centrated
reagent
phericCO, with a sodalime tube.Usethe
to 1000mL with distilledwater.
supernatefor preparingdilute solurions
listedin TableB.
Indicator
Solutions
Alternativelypreparedilutesolutionsby
a- Phenolphthalein indicator solution:
dissolvingthc weight of solid NaOH inUseeitherthe aqueous(l) or alcoholic(2)
solution.
TABLE B: PREp^R^Tlo\ oF UNTFoRMSoDruM
I) Dissolve5 g phenolphthaleindisoHyDRoxtDE SoLUTroNs
dium salt in distilledwater and dilute to
lL .
Required
Rcquircd
2) Dissolve5 g phenolphthalein
in 500
Normality
Wcight of
Volumeof
'
mL
95Vo
ethyl
isopropyl
or
alcohol
and
OT
NaOH to Prc15^ NaOH to
add 500 mL distilledwaler.
NaOH
psrc 1,000mL
Pr.plrc l,om
If necessary,
add0.02,\'NaOH dropwisc
Solution
of Solution
mL of Solurion
pink
until
a
faint
color appearsin solution
mL
c
l) or 2).
6
24
400
b. Methyl orangeindicatorsolution:Disq
I
solve5m mg methylorangepowderin dis0 .1
tilled warerand dilute to I L.

EXPRESSION
OF RESULTS

17

103 EXPRESSION
OF RESULTS'
1. Units
This text usesthe InternationalSystem
of Units (SI) and chemicaland physical
in milligramsper liter
resultsareexpressed
(mgll). Recordonly thesignificanlfigures.
generallyare lessthan I
lf concentrations
mg/L, it may b more convenientto expressresultsin microgramsper liter (y,g/
L). Usepg,/L whenconcentrations
areless
than 0.1 mg,/L.
Express concentrationsgreater than
l0 000 mgll- in perccnt,17, beingcqual
gravity
to 10000mg,/Lwhenthe specific
is 1.0O.ln solid samplesand liquid wastes
of high specificgravity,makea correction
as pans per
if the resultsare expressed
(ppm)
perccnt
million
or
by weight:

with the particularion.Thefactorsfor converting.csultsfrom milligramsper liter to

perliter werecomputedby
milliequivalents
dividing the ion chargeby weight of the
factorsfor convertingreion. Conversely,
per liter to milsultsfrom milliequivalents
ligrams per liter were calculated by
dividing the weightof the ion by the ron
charge.
2. SignificantFigures

To avoid ambiguityin reportingresults

or in presenting
directionsfor a procedure,
it is the customto use"significantfigures."
All digitsin a reportedresultare expected
to be known definitely,exceptfor the last
digit, whichmay be in doubt.Sucha nunber is said to containonly significantfigures.If more than a singledoubtfuldigit
mE/L
ppm by wcight =
is carried,the extradigit o! digits are not
sp 8r
significant.If an analyticalresult ls remg/L
portedas "75.6mgll-," tbe analystshould
7. by $cight :
l0 000 x spgr
be quite certainof the "75," but may b
uncertainasto vrhetherthc ".6" shouldbe
In suchcases,if the resultis givenas mil- .5 or .7. or cven.4 or .8. becauseof unaligramsper liter, statespecificgraviry.
voidablcuncertaintyin the analyricalproThe unit equivalcntsper million (epm), cedure. If the standarddeviation were
or the identicaland lessambiguousterm knownfrom previouswork tobe !2 mg/
per liter, or milli- L, the analystwould have,or shouldhave,
milligram.equivalents
equivalentsper liter (me,/L),can bc valu- roundedof the resultto "?6 mg,/L" before
able for making water treatment cal- leponing it. On the other hand, if the
culations
analyses
by anion- methodweresogoodthat a lesultof"75.61
and checking
cationbalance.
remgll" couldhavcbeenconscicntiously
Table 103:Ipresents
factorsfor convcrt- ported,then the analystshould not have
ing conccntrations
of commonions from roundcdit otr to 75.6.
per
per
milligrams lirer to millicquivalents
Rcpon only suchfiguresas arejustified
liter, and vice vena. Thc term milliequiv- by the accuracyofthe work. Do not follow
alentusedin this tablercpresents
0.001of the all-tgo-commonpracticeof requiring
an equivalent weight. The equivalent that quantitieslistedin a columnhavethe
weight,in turn, is definedas the weightof samenumberof figuresto the right of the
the ion (sum of the atomicweightsof the dccimalpoint.
atomsmakingup the ion) dividedby the
a Roundingofi Roundotr by dropping
number of chargesnormally associated digits that arc not significant.If the digit
6, 7, E,or 9 is dropped,incrcaseprcceding
digit by one unit; if the digit 0, l, 2, 3, or
'Approv.d by Sledrrd M.thod! Cammitt.., l9El.

(1OO)
GENERALINTRODUCTION

18

F^crors'
TABLE103:I.CoNvERsroN
(MiuiSramsper Litcr-Milliequivrlcnts pr Liter)
Ion
ne/L : ttgL\
(Cation)

mglL = tne/Lx

Ion
t t lL :
(A ' io n )

AfB rBa'*
Ca:*
Cr'-

0. 12
0.2115
0.01456
0.04990
0.05770

E.994
3.603
68.67

Bo,

20.u

co,'

Cu'_

0.03147
0.035El
0.05372
0.9922
0.0255t

31.71
27.92
18.62
1.008
39.I0

0 .1 4 4|
0.08229
0.03640
0.0728l
0.04350
0.055r,l
0.009651
0.0228l
0.03059

6.941
12.t5

HCO,HPO.'
H.PO.
HS
HSOJ
HSO.
I

H'
K-

Mg''
Mn:_
Mn"
Na_
NH.'
Pb:'
7n''

13.73
22.99
18.04
t03.6
43.81
32.69

No,
NO,
OH
PO.',

sio,:
So,'

so.'

tvLX

0.02336
0.01252
0.0282l
0.01333
0.01124
0.0526.1
0 . 0 1 6l9
0.02084
0 . 0 1 0ll
0.03024
0.01214
0.01030
0.m7 880
0.o2\ 14
0.016l3
0.05880
0 . 0 3 15 9
0.062t8
0.02629
0.02498
0.02082

6g/L :

'lc/Lx

42.81
79.90
35.45
30.00
58.00
l9.m
61.02
47.99
96.99
1t.07
61.07
91.01
t26.9
46.01
62.00
l'7.01
31.66
16.03
38.04
40.03
48.03

'Flciors ar. bed on ion charg. and nor on rcdox r.&tions that may bc possiblcfor c.naif, of thcs. ions.Catiotrs
and anionsarc listcd s.parat.ly in alphab.ticalord.r.

4 is dropped,do not alter precedingdigit.

If the digit 5 is dropped,roundoff preceding digit to the nearestevennumkr: thus
2.25becomes
2.2 and 2.35becomes2.4.
b. Ambiguouszeros:The digit 0 may record a measuledvalueof zero or it may
sene merelyasa spacerto locatethe decimal point. If the resultof a sulfatedetermination is reportedas 420 mg/L, the
repon recipientmay be in doubt whether
the zcro is signifrcantor not, hcause the
zero cannotbe deleted.If an analystcalculatesa total residucof 1146mgll, but
realizesthat the 4 is somewhatdoubtful
andthat thereforethe6 hasno signifcancc,
the answershouldbe roundedoff to I150
mg,/L arj.dso rcpond but here, too, the
reportrecipientwill not knowwhetherthe
zero is significant.Although the number

could be expressed
as a powerof l0 (e.g.,
1 1 . 5x l0 1 o r1 . 1 5x l0 ) , t hi sfo r mi s n o t
usedgenerallybecause
it wouldnot beconsistentwith the normal expressionof resultsandmightbconfusing.In mostother
cases.therewill beno doubtasto the sense
in which the digit 0 is used.It is obvious
that the zerosare significantin suchnumbersas lOl and 40.08.ln a numberwritten
as 5.000,it is understoodthat all the zcros
are significant,or elsethe numbercould
havebeenroundedof ro 5.00,5.0, or 5,
whicheverwasappropriate.Wheneverthe
zerois ambiguous,
it is advisableto accompany the result with an estimateof its
unccrtainty.
Sometimes,
significantzerosaredropped
without goodcause.If a buret is read as
"23.60mL," it shouldbe so recorded,and

EXPRESSION
OFRESULTS
not as "23.6 mL." The first numbcrindicatcsthat the analysttook the trouble to
estimatethe seconddecimalplace;"23.6
mL" would indicatea rathercareless
reading of the buret.
c. Theplus-or-minus(!) notation:lf a
calculationyicldsasa result"1476mg/L"
with a standarddeviationestimated
as 140
mgll, reportit as 14801 4Omgll. However,if the standarddeviationis estimated
as t 100mgll- round off the answerstill
further and repon as 1500 a 100mgll-.
By this device,ambiguityis avoidedand
the leport recipientcan tell that the zeros
are only spacers.Even if the problemof
ambiguouszerosis not present.showing
the standarddeviationis helpfulin that it
providesan estimatcof rcliability.
d. Calculations:
As a practicaloperating
rule, round of the resultof a calculation
in whichseveralnumbersaremultipliedor
dividedto as few significantfiguresas are
presentin the factor with the fewestsignificantfigures.Suppose
that the following
calculationsmust be made to obtain the
resultof an analysis:

19

to "5.0" because
oneof the measuremcnts
that enteredinto thc calculatio!, 56, h8s
only two signifrcantfigurcs.It was unnecessaryto measurethe othcr thrce factors
to four significantfiguresbecausethe "56"
is the "weakestlink in thechain"andlimits
accuracyofthe answer.Ifthe otherfactors
were measuredto only thre, insteadof
four, significantfigures,the answerwould
not sufferand the labor might b less.
Whennumbersare addedor subtracted,
the number that has the fewestdecimal
places,not necessarily
thc fewestsignificant
puts
figules,
the limil on the number of
placesthatjustifiablymaybe carriedin the
sum or diference.Thus the sum
0.00?2
12.o2
4.007t
25.9
48E6

4921.93s0

must bc roundedotr to "492E," no decimals, becauscone of the addends,4EE6,

hasno decimalplaces.Noticcthat another
addend,25.9,hasonly thresignificant6956 x 0.m3 462x 43.22
uresand yet it doesnot set a limit to the
1.684
numberofsignificantfguresin the answer.
The precedingdiscussionis necessarily
A ten-placecalculatoryieldsan answerof oversimplifed.
Thereaderis referredto the
"4.975 744 99E." Round ofr this number bibliographyfor moredetailedsources.

ABBREVIATIONS
are uscdthroughoutthis trook:
The following symbolsand abbreviations
AbbrcviationReferent
atomic absorption
AA
ampere(s)
A or amp
alternatingcunent .
AC
AmericanChemicalSociety
ACS
atomicmassunits
amu
AmricanPublic HealthAsAPHA
sociation
American
Socielyfor Testing
ASTM
and Materials
AmcricanWater Works AsAWWA
sociation
BOD

biochemicaloxygendemand

'c

degrcc(s)Cclsius
count(s)
curie(s)
ci
cmr
centimctcr(s),square centrcm, cmr,
mctcds), cubic centimetcr(s)
chemicaloxygendemand
coD
conccntrated
conc
countspr minute
cpm
countsper scond
cps

DC
diam
DO
dpm
g

GC
GC,/MS

day
direct currenl
diameter
dissolvedoxygen
per-minute
disintegrations
gram(s)
of
gravity,unit acceleration
gaschromatograph
gas chromatograph/mass
spectrometel

hour

IC
ICP
ID
IU

ion chromatograph
inductivclycoupledplasma
insidediameter
intcrnationalunit(s)

Abbreviation Referent
Jackson candle turbidity
ITU
unit(s)
KeV
kg
kPa

kiloelectron volt(s)
kilogram(s)
kitopascal

liter(s)

M
m, mt, m'

moleor molar
mctcr(s),squaremetcr(s),cubic met(s)
maximumcontaminantlcvcl
millicquivalent(s)
volt(s)
megaeleclron
milligram(s)
minute(s)
milliliter(s)
millimeter(s),square millimeter(s), cubic millimc.
ter(s)
molecularweighl
most probablenumber
massspectrometer
miUivolt(s)
microampere(s)
miclocurie(s)
microgram(s)
microliter(s)
micrometer(s)

MCL
mc
meV
mg
mln

mL
mm, mmr,
mmt

mol wt
MPN
MS
mV
pA

pci
ps
p.L
pm
NBS
nCi
n8
No.
NTU

normal
National Bureau of Stand'
ards
nanocurie(s)
nanogram(s)
numbl
turbidity
nephelomctric
unit(s)

OD

outsidediameter

Pa

pascal
picocurie(s)

pci

(Continued)
ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviation Referent
pg
picogram(s)
polyvinyl chloride
PVC
rpm
rps

revolution(s)pr minute
revolution(s)per second

SD
SDI
s
sp.,spp.
sp gr
ST

standarddeviation
sludgedcnsityindex
second(s)
species
specificgravity
standardtaper
sludgevolumeindex

svI
TFE
THM
TOC

tetrafluoroethylene
trihalomethane(s)
total organiccarbon
thresholdodor number
total organichalogen
SeeSection801A

T.O.N.

TOX
Toxicity
tcrms
U
USP

unit(s)
United States Pharmacopoeia
ultraviolet

UV

volt(s)
volumeratio
WPCF

watt(s)
Water Pollution Control
Federation

zsv

zonc settling index

'@l 3
i9;

; r'b.,1

lcoo.J

Abbreviationsof periodical titls in referencelists and bibliographiesare basedon

thos given in Biosis Li* of Seials with
Title Abbreviations,1970.BiosciencesInformation Serviceof Biological Abstracts,
Philadelohia.Pa.

TA.BLEA: UNIT PREFIXES

Symbol

Prcfix

megakilomillimicronanoprco-

Multiplcs
and Submultiples

ld

rd
10-,
10-"
l0-'
l0-"

T^BLE B: METRTC-ENGLrSH
EeurvALEN-rs

Metric
Unit
lur
L
cm
!g
E
kPa

Muhiplied
by

3.279
0.@29
o.2f/,2
0.394
2.201
0.0353
0.145

: English
Unit
ft
ft-c
8al
in.
Ib
oz
pst