ERIC Number: EJ1301188
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-May
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Solution Mixing Calculations as a Geometry, Linear Algebra, and Convex Analysis Problem
Journal of Chemical Education, v98 n5 p1659-1666 May 2021
Multicomponent solution calculations can be complicated for students and practiced chemists alike. This article describes how to simplify the calculations by representing a solution's composition as a point in a "concentration space," whose axes are the concentrations of each solute. The graphical representation of mixing processes in a concentration space diagram enables qualitative insights such as whether a mixture can be made from a set of stock solutions and the relative volume proportions needed, solely by visual inspection and without detailed calculation. The diagrams correspond to elementary linear algebra equations which facilitates the specification of quantitative calculations. The relationship of the solution mixing problem to convex analysis is discussed. Example applications of this approach to problems of calculating the composition following mixing, determining the volumes to use to create a specified mixture, selecting a set of stock solutions maximizing the number of possible unique mixtures that can be made, random experiment sampling, and common-ion effect problems are demonstrated.
Descriptors: Chemistry, Problem Solving, Computation, Visual Aids, Algebra, Equations (Mathematics), Laboratory Procedures, Laboratory Experiments, Geometry
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A