Given data:
CO concentration in air = 15 ppm
Volume of air inhaled per breath = 0.50 L
Breaths taken per minute = 20
CO density = 1.2 g/L
Objective:
milligrams of CO inhaled over 6 hours
Clarification:
A concentration of 15 ppm of CO means that there are 15 liters of CO per 10⁶ liters of air
. Consequently, the volume of CO inhaled through 0.50 L of air is
= 15 L CO * 0.50 L air/10⁶ L air =
7.5 *10⁻⁶ L CO/breathNext, considering there are 20 breaths in a minute,
the total number of breaths in 360 minutes (or 6 hours) will be
= 360 min * 20 breaths/1 min = 7200 breaths
Thus, the total volume of CO inhaled in that time frame is
= 7200 breaths * 7.50*10⁻⁶L/1 breath = 0.054 L
Given that the density of CO is 1.2 g/L
the mass of CO inhaled equals Density*Volume
= 0.054 * 1.2 = 0.0648 g = 64.8 mg
Thus, the mass of CO inhaled over 6 hours is 64.8 mg