Question

The detection threshold of formaldehyde by humans is about 100 ppb. Would a typical human be able to detect formaldehyde at a concentration of 250 micrograms per m^3 if the air temperature was 23C and the pressure 1.00 atm?

Answer 1

V_n =specific molar volume of ideal gas (at pressure P and temperature T)[L/mol]

V =volume of the gas[m³]n =amount of molecules[mol]

R =universal gas law constant [3][8.314510 J K^-1 mol^-1] or [m³ Pa K^-1 mol^-1]

T =temperature[K]

P =pressure[Pa]

threshold in ppm = 0.1 ppm

let the formaldehyde concentration be x.so,

using the above formulas, we get x=0.189 ppm

hence this exceeds the threshold which is 0.1 ppm

hence humans will be able to detect it.