Vinegar, used as a food preservative and additive, contains 5 % v/v acetic acid. Glacial acetic acid is a liquid, i.e., 100% acetic acid. If you want to make vinegar from glacial acetic acid, how would you proceed?
To make vinegar from glacial acetic acid, we need to prepare a 5% v/v solution. Since vinegar contains 5% v/v acetic acid, it means 5 mL of acetic acid is present in 100 mL of the solution. Therefore, take 5 mL of glacial acetic acid and add a sufficient amount of water to make the total volume of the solution 100 mL.
Explanation
The question tests the understanding of volume by volume percentage (% v/v). As per the context, % v/v = (Volume of solute / Volume of solution) × 100. For a 5% v/v solution, 5 mL of the solute (glacial acetic acid) must be present in 100 mL of the solution. Thus, mixing 5 mL of glacial acetic acid with water to reach a total volume of 100 mL yields the desired vinegar.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the required concentration of vinegar, which is 5% v/v acetic acid.
Step 2: Understand that 5% v/v means 5 mL of solute (acetic acid) is present in 100 mL of solution.
Step 3: Measure 5 mL of glacial acetic acid and add water to make the total solution volume 100 mL.