Ethical Issues In The Human Genome Project

Ethical Issues In The Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project was the largest international scientific research conducted in the field of Biology. This research project began in 1990 with a mission of discovering all the genes in human DNA and determining the sequences of chemical base pairs which make up the DNA of human. The Human Genome Project was coordinated by the Department of Energy and National Institute of Health, in the USA. The research involved thousands of scientists, biologists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians and human participants from around the world. The researchers plotted several types of biological maps that enabled many other researchers to improve their knowledge and to use them in proceeding with their researches. According to web definitions, a genome is The set of genes that are carried by an individual. A chromosome is a genetic structure that contains cells that contain thousands of genes. The human genome is stored in 23 chromosome pairs. Gene sequencing is a process that determines the sequence of DNA of an organisms genome. The genome that was sequenced for the first time was a virus and was done in 1977. Scientists have discovered that there are over 3 billion DNA base pairs in a haploid human genome. One of the aims of the human genome project was to plot maps that are capable of providing a way for the researchers to locate specific genes in a chromosome. The primary aim of the Human Genome Project was to identify and map all the DNA pairs. There are many applications of Genome research, namely, Bio Technology, Bio Medical Research, Molecular Medicine, DNA Forensics, Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and bio-processing. The outcome of the Human Genome Project enables improved diagnosis of disease, Rational Drug design, creation of customized drugs and Gene therapy. These are several benefits of the HGP in the context of Molecular Medicine and Bio Medical Research. The maps created by the HGP have enabled researchers to unveil many genetic conditions such as inherited colon cancer, Breast cancer and Alzheimers disease. The HGP ( in the filed of DNA forensic) will enable to identify suspects by identifying DNA found in crime scenes, identify parents, and other relationships, and to identify DNA precisely in any context. Furthermore, it enables creation of nutritious products and Biopesticides as benefits to the field of Agriculture and Bi oprocessing. Plants and animals that are more immune to diseases could be created by understanding plant and animal genomes. Moreover, it will enable to reduce cost of agriculture and to provide customers with more nutritious and quality products. The benefits for Bioarchaelogy, Human Evolution and Anthropology are the ability to study the evolution of humans by understanding the genomics, ability to study migration of different populations and to discover the relationships between the archaebacteria, eukaryotes and prokaryotes. On the contrary to the above mentioned benefits, the Human Genome project and its applications have encountered significant social, ethical and legal issues. The main issue is allowing access to gathered genetic information. If the information is accessible by anyone, it could be misused. For example an employer can access this information, and use it in making decisions when they hire people. There may be people who are having genetic disorders, yet physically fit and capable of working. Nevertheless, the employers can decide not to hire them considering the possibility of developing a medical disorder. Decisions are made based on the employees personal genetic information. This could be unfair to a certain group of people with genetic disorders. Making decision based on the genetic information of the employees is unlawful under section 202 of the Genetic Information Non Discrimination Act of 2008. According to Section 202, Employer Practices, it is unlawful for an employer not to h ire or to discharge or to discriminate any employee based on their genetic information. If the data is accessed by Insurance companies, they could use it to earn profits. The person who is willing to insure himself will have to pay a premium depending on the severity of the disease he has. For example, a cancer patients premium will be higher that the premium of a normal person. The ethical issue is discrimination based on the genetic information. It is a known fact that discrimination is used to discourage people in many places such as schools, workplaces, universities, and even in public. There are many instances in which people had to leave workplaces, and children faced many problems in schools due to embarrassment which was a consequence of discrimination. Race and ethnicity discrimination was the most prominent form of discrimination. It has deviated into genetic discrimination since the genetic information is now available. This may cause embarrassment to people with certain genetic disorders, discourage them and even lose their confidence which could let them do wn. To regulate this situation, many governments have set laws and legislations that describe the penalties of discrimination. One such legislation is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Section 702 of the act States (A) In General For purposes of this section, a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, may not adjust premium of contribution amounts for the group covered under such plan on the basis of genetic discrimination. It further discusses the penalties for the insurers and employers who use discrimination as a form of gaining profit. Another way of misusing the gathered information is using it do discriminate minority ethnic groups or communities. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Human genome states, No one shall be subjected to discrimination based on genetic characteristics that is intended to infringe or has the effect of infringing human rights, fundamental freedom and human dignity. Therefore even though a persons genetic information is revealed, he has the right to live without being a victim of discrimination. Nevertheless, the existence of the genetic information may lead to several social issues such as racial discrimination. Currently, most people in European countries are victims of racial criticism. The human genome project requires quite a large number of genes to be gathered and stored and then to be tested. The genetic differences between groups of people can be emphasized. This may have a psychological impact due to the differences between genetics. One of the greatest achievements of the Human Genome Project was the genetic map which is capable of facilitating researchers to pin point specific genes in a chromosome. This enables to discover a significant amount of disorders in the human body and doctors to quickly identify the disorders within their patients. Several decades ago, people were not allowed to be aware of the diseases and only the scientists were allowed to discover them and find treatments. The society has revolutionized, and people live more sophisticated lives, therefore, awareness of such diseases is at a higher level. Many people argue that patients have a right to be aware of their illnesses; on the other hand, this has a negative impact on the patients mentality. Even if a genetic disorder is discovered, it takes some time to discover the treatments. For instance, cancer was discovered, several decades ago, however proper treatments with no side effects have not been found yet. Similarly, when a genetic diso rder is diagnosed, it can create frustration and anxiety. This frustration and anxiety will remain within the patients mind until the treatments are discovered and the patient is treated. This may take a short time period or may take a couple of years. It is a well known fact that a person can live longer and happier as long as he is not aware of his illnesses. Another drawback is that people might be discouraged and refuse to live their normal lives due to frustration. Awareness of the genetic disorders can ultimately result in a group of people who are mentally ill which would become a severe social issue. Applying new genetics to unborn children is another area which may cause ethical and social implications. The discoveries of the Human Genome Project have enabled the scientists and doctors to replace cells in unborn children. This implies that parents can have custom-made babies, with the desired features. A possible dilemma is issues related to In-Vitro-Fertilization. In Vitro Fertilization is the process of fertilizing egg cells by male cells (spermatocyte) outside the womb. Since genetic information is available, genes with all good features could be selected and high grade embryos could be created. The concept of Designer Baby is introduced with this technology. Theses embryos could be sold at different prices which may cause in every human having a price and it will depend on the race, intelligence level, eye, or hair color and immunity to diseases. Prices of these designer babies will depend on the quality of the baby. Social issues may arise among people who are able to affor d for a high quality designer baby and people who are not capable of owning one. Another possible social issue is the competition among the designer babies when they grow older. Every parent would want their baby to be a high quality designer baby. The rate of child kidnaps and murders could rise as a result of the designer baby concept. As stated in the previous paragraphs, one of the main objectives of the Human Genome project was to map the DNA sequence. This enables the doctors to modify the embryos and create humans who can live longer, more intelligent and more immune to various diseases. In addition to the issues raised by having designer babies, creation of super human with fewer defects have raised religious issues. It contradicts with the religious beliefs on God of many people. Creation of super human has raised controversial issues among the scientists who are involved in research based on creating humans and spiritual and religious leaders. This is because many religions believe that the creator of humans is God. They believe that the superiority of human is decided by god. The argument brought by them is that only god has the power to create a living creature and humans are not creators, but only creations. They also believe that humans shall never become powerful than God. Moreover, they strongly belie ve that these scientific researches and developments have disappointed God, and the harsh punishments should be given to scientists who are engaged in such research. This religious issue could grow into a serious social issue where people might start attacking the scientists. Previous researches have shown that most people are against modifying embryos to create better quality humans. Furthermore, it is evident that people who are against the creation of super human are mostly religious and spiritual leaders and people who strongly believe in God. Forensic Investigation is another area which is benefitted by the Human Genome Project. Nevertheless, it can be the origin of many social and ethical issues. The DNA gathered by the HGP is stored in a database known as the National DNA databank: CODIS. The goal of storing this information is to use it for forensic investigation, in criminology. Investigations involving DNA is considered to be more accurate. The Combined DNA Index System has become a powerful tool to reduce violent crime as it combines DNA technologies with computers. Two indexes are used in CODIS, namely, The Convicted Offender Index and The Forensic Index. These indexes are generated using the biological evidences gathered from the crime scene. DNA profiles are then created using Short Tandem Repeat analysis. Different software is utilized in CODIS to search for the indexes for matching DNA profiles. According to the sources, the databank contains more than five million DNA profiles. DNA is tested to identify crimin als, but when the tests are done, used DNA records should be destroyed. Proper Disposal of the DNA information is vital or else the persons entire genetic information would be available. This again could be used to discriminate people or to accuse innocent people for crimes which they have not committed. Another distressing issue is the violation of privacy of the owners of the genetic information. Genetic information is considered as private and confidential information of a person and privacy implies that a person has the right to decide the extent of disclosing his or her genetic information. Privacy is violated due to not having proper means of disposing the used samples. Accusing innocent people or arresting them is another negative aspect of storing DNA in a databank. This technology matches DNA profiles of crimes with victims and therefore, it can match a person who has been in the crime scene earlier. This way, innocent people could be accused and arrested, hence discriminat ed and cornered by the society. Another alarming issue is populating criminal databases with DNA samples of people belonging to ethnic minorities. This is mainly done with an intention of discrimination and discouraging people. This is due to not gathering and storing genetic information in an unbiased manner such that it would not be unfair for a group of people. For example, a controversial problem occurred in a European country, for storing DNA samples in a biased manner such that the criminal databases were mostly populated with innocent people belonging to ethnic minorities. Consequently, innocent people were arrested and questioned. Gene Testing is yet another area which may cause social issues. In gene testing, DNA sample are taken and stored in databases, and sometimes used to compare with other peoples DNA samples. Once a DNA test is done, the company issues a copy to the owner of the DNA and results are kept in hard copy files as well as databases. These hard copy files could be accessed by any one and refer to the genetic information and test results of some one. The database can also be hacked and the genetic information can be revealed. It is a known fact that no database is hundred percent secure even if it is an offline database. Therefore security is a main issue in genetic testing. Some of this DNA samples are compared with other samples during tests, and mostly done without the consent of the owner of the DNA sample. Privacy is the main issue of having a massive databank with DNA information of millions of people. DNA can provide information about people including their probability of having certain diseases, sexual orientation or certain behaviors. Gaining access to this information would violate the privacy of another. Police, forensic science service and researchers can access this information without the consent of the people. This violates the privacy of the people. One can use this information unethically, against another to discriminate or to harm someone emotionally. Celebrities would be the first to lose their privacy as many people are keen on gathering information about them. This information could be published and could be the origin of many other issues in their personal lives. The probability for genetic discrimination by the government, schools, employers and insurance companies may increase. Invading someone elses privacy is illegal according to many privacy laws and legislations set by many governments. According to the Privacy Law of the United States of America, privacy is the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed in a private place wil l not be disclosed to third parties, when that disclosure would cause embarrassments or emotional distress to a person of reasonable sensitivities. Furthermore, it discusses the penalties of invading other peoples privacy. Article four of universal Declaration of the Human Genome and Human Rights states that The human genome in its natural state shall not give rise to financial gains. In most countries it is believed that DNA, when removed from a person, is not considered to be in its natural form, hence it is used to gain financial benefits. For instance, in the US, innovations are encouraged by allowing gene patenting. Though using genomes to gain profits is against the Universal declaration of Human Rights many companies tend to use this to gain profits. But many people are against gene patenting for various reasons including their strong beliefs which says that human gene sequences should never be patented. It is also believed that human genome is an inherent part of every person. Gene patenting is prohibited in some parts of the world and there has been evidence of situations in which legal bodies have denied to grant patents. Another area of the Human Genome Project which will cause several ethical, legal and social issues is genetic Testing, Screening and Counseling. As a result of identifying new genes, tests that can determine the level of risk for a particular genetic disease are developed. This will enable people to know whether there is a potential of developing a disease or a genetic disorder which could be passed on to their children. This will have a negative impact on the society. Also it could change the whole life of a person. For example, a person could be mentally letdown if he gets to know that he has a high possibility of developing a rare disease which could not be cured. If this information is revealed, and accessed by an employer this person might not be granted a job. Similarly, if the person wants to get an insurance coverage for himself, he might be required to pay a higher premium to the insurers depending on his disease. Genetic engineering involves manipulation of genes. The map created as a result of the Human Genome Project provides information that will enable to diagnose and treat many diseases. The map can also help in determining the genetic foundation of physical and psychological behavior. As a result, it is possible to alter the behaviors with the involvement of genetics. Two areas of genetic engineering is somatic cell manipulation which alters body cells and germline manipulation which alters reproductive cells. The use of Somatic cell manipulation is ethically accepted as it limits the changes that can be done to an individual. Since it alters only the body cells, the risks are not inherited by the descendants. In contrast, the germline cell manipulation raises ethical issues since the manipulations of reproductive cells can extend the risks across the generations. Genetic engineering done on humans may cause health issues. For example, genes of one person could be enhanced to increase a persons height further than his natural height. But this may cause stress to other parts of the body such as the heart. As a result, the person might be left physically ill. Another key ethical issue of the Human Genome Project is the use of genetic screening. According to web definitions genetic screening is The process of testing individuals in a population for certain hereditary defects. Mandatory genetic screening for adults raises many ethical issues related to privacy and personal liberty. Furthermore, Genetic screening of infants, young infants and other vulnerable groups who cannot grant their consent is unethical. For example, in most cases, infants are screened without the consent of parents. Screening is done based on an assumption that parents are willing to know about the probable diseases that might develop in their children. There is evidence of situations where genetic screening has been used as a form of discrimination. For example, in insuring patients who are willing to obtain a health insurance, there are required to pay extra amounts. In addition to the applications discussed earlier, Agriculture and livestock breeding are two other applications of the genome research. As opposed to the above applications, these areas do not use humans for testing. Yet it may give rise to many health issues which might convert into social issues with time. These applications entails of developing bio engineered food and animals, also known as genetic engineering. This process is similar to genetic engineering done on humans. Though many researchers explain the positive aspect of bio engineered food, many health issues and other side effects night arise by consuming modified food. Many companies tend to create genetically modified food regardless of the consumers health. Regular consumption of genetically modified food may severely damage the health of people; as a consequence, people of a country may not be able to involve in the development process of the country. Furthermore, companies would refuse to hire people and as a result , the country can be populated with unhealthy and unemployed people. Though the mission of The Human Genome Project was accomplished, it is evident that the potential and current applications of the Human Genome Research have caused many issues. Ethical and social issues included issues concerning the privacy of the people, discrimination, unauthorized access to the gathered information and security issues and many other related issues. Issues related to the informed consent and legal issues were also caused by the applications of the genome research. The concepts of super human and designer baby were two controversial concepts that caused religious and social issues. Furthermore, other applications in the field of agriculture and genetic engineered food could cause health issues in the society. In my opinion, the Human Genome project and its current and potential applications have a significant amount of social, ethical, religious and legal issues which would directly affect many peoples lives.

Comparison of BMW and Mercedes Benz Essay -- Compare Contrast Cars Ess

Comparison of BMW and Mercedes Benz   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most popular car of this century are the Mercedes Benz and the BMW. Many different cars in the world dont campare to at least half of what a Mercedes Benz and a BMW are. Two specific cars are the 2000 BMW M 2-door Coupe 3.2L, 2000 BMW X5 sports activity vehicle 4-door sport utility 4.4L, 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK 430 2- door Coupe 4.3L, and the 2000 Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 Kompressor 2-door convertible 2.3L. In this report I will be tlaking about these specific types of Mercedes-Benz and BMW.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Bmw X5 is a 4- door, 5 passenger sport utility available in one trim only. Th X5 is quipped with a standard 4.4-liter, V8, 282-horsepower engine that consumes 13-mpg in the city and 17-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard. The X5 is new for the year 2000. Sophisticated powertrain, fully equipped, good driving pleasure, roomy interior, and gives an interesting performance. It is a complex machine, unproven quality of assembly, high priced, limited initial availability. The price for the X5 is $49, 400, $44,620 for the dealer invoice, and $570 for the destination charges. Its competetor is the 2002 Cadillac Escalade 4-door sport utility 6.0L all wheel drive, the 2001 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4-door sport utility 6.0L all wheel drive, the 2001 Lincoln Navigator 4-door utility 5.4l4 wheel drve, the 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser 4-door sport utility 4.7L 4 wheel drive, the 2001 Merc...

Abortion – “the Wrong of Abortion”

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics of all times. The definition most people associate with abortion is the termination of unwanted pregnancy. In their essay, â€Å"The Wrong of Abortion†, Patrick Lee and Robert P. George argue that intentional abortion is unjust and therefore objectively immoral no matter the circumstances. Also, they argue that â€Å"the burden of carrying the baby is significantly less than the harm the baby would suffer by being killed; the mother and father have a special responsibility to the child; it follows that intentional abortion (even in few cases where the baby’s death is an unintended but foreseen side effect) is unjust † (24). I am personally in between pro-life and pro-choice. On the one hand, I agree with their argument in that the mother and the father are responsible for their baby and that abortion should not be a choice. However, I disagree with the part where they say that abortion is unjust even if the baby (fetus) may have a defect. Yet, I believe that the choice of abortion is immoral if women use it as their last resort- contraceptive purposes, but I think that abortion should be allowed if the baby (fetus), which is still in the womb, is predicted to have a side effect such as deformation or diseases like Down’s syndrome. For example, if I were to bear a child and I find out later on that my baby has Down’s syndrome; then, in this case, I will choose to get aborted, not for selfish reasons, but because this defect may hurt my baby in the long run. Besides, my baby is the one that has to live with it for the rest of his/her life and it will definitely have a big effect on them in the future. In short, I am pro-life in most cases, especially if women do not take responsibility for their actions, but I am pro-choice if and only if there are side effects with the baby or the mother that might endanger their lives and of course, abortion is permissible in case of incest and rape. Lee and George claim that human embryos (fetuses) are complete human beings that have not fully developed to its mature stage; therefore, a human being is what is killed in abortion. I agree completely that the fetus, or the human embryo, is in fact a living being. Moreover, human embryo is the â€Å"same† as human beings except, the difference between these two is that the embryo is not a full human person because the fetus is not fully developed yet. Every new life, whether it be animal or human, begins at conception. With this being said, no matter what the circumstances of conception, no matter how far along in the pregnancy, abortion, in my opinion, always ends the life of an individual human being. Abortion destroys the lives of helpless and innocent babies that have not done anything wrong. Everyone is raised knowing the difference between right and wrong. Murder is wrong, so why is not abortion? Defenders of abortion argue that it is not murder if the child is unborn. So, why is it that if an infant is destroyed a month before the birth, there is no problem, but if killed a month after birth, it is considered as inhumane murder? Lee and George support their argument by providing three important facts that differentiate a human embryo is, in fact, a human being. First, they say that sex cells and somatic cells are part of a larger organism while the human embryo is a complete or whole organism, though immature (14). Secondly, they say that the embryo is human and has all the characteristics of a human being but the sex and somatic cells are genetically and functionally different because they cannot develop separately while the embryo can. Last but not least, they claim that embryo develops all of the organs and organ systems that are necessary to turn themselves into a mature human being. Above all, the human embryo, from conception onward, is fully programmed actively to develop himself or herself to the mature stage of a human being, unless prevented by disease or violence (14). With these reasons, it can be said that abortion results in the death of a human being. As a result, abortion is murder since the fetus being destroyed is breathing, has a human form, and has feelings. Carol Everett, who is a former abortionist, once said at the conference Meet the Abortion Providers, â€Å"the product abortion, is skillfully marketed and sold to the women at a crisis time in her life. She buys the product, finds it defective and wants to return it for a refund, but it is too late. † In most cases, abortion is intentional killing. Most women use aborting as an easy â€Å"way out† because they want to avoid in becoming a parent. Parents do have a responsibility to make sacrifices for their children, even if they have not voluntary assumed such responsibilities, or given their consent to the personal relationship with the child- this is the authors’ claim (22). I completely agree with their claim because a person should accept the consequences of risks that one knowingly and willingly takes. I believe that it is common sense that both women and men should know that contraceptives are not 100 percent effective; for this reason, if they are willingly having sexual intercourse, then they should know that they are taking the risk in possibly becoming pregnant. Therefore, a woman who becomes pregnant should accept her pregnancy as the consequence of taking the risk involved in sexual intercourse. This means that the woman has a duty or a responsibility of taking care for her child regardless if she wanted the baby or not. Since we have special responsibilities to those with whom we are closely untied, it follows that we in fact do have a special responsibility to our children anterior to our having voluntarily assumed such responsibility or consented to the relationship† (23). Abortion is clearly used to avoid responsibility and the authors call this unjust or intentional killing. Nevertheless, while the authors argue that abortion is intentional killing most of the tim e, they also claim that causing death as a side effect is morally permissible. For example, if the pregnant woman has cancer in her uterus that will surely endanger the woman’s life, then Lee and George claim that, in this case, it can be morally right to remove the cancer with the baby still in her womb, even if the baby (fetus) dies as a result. They consider the baby’s death as a side effect as well as the ending of the pregnancy itself but they claim that the mother’s life is more important. This type of abortion is known as indirect or non-intentional killing (21). However, they also assert that not every death that is caused because of side effects is right. For instance, if the mother or the father have a bad habit of smoking when they know for a fact that this will endanger the baby’s (fetus) development, and for this reason, the woman wants to get an abortion because they find out that their baby has a defect- this choice she is making is an unjust act since she could have avoided it but instead, did not do anything to change; therefore, this is the consequence they have to face. It was immoral for them to continue with their actions when they know this will or might cause harm to their child. The act that would cause the child’s death would avoid harm to the parent but cause a significantly worse harm to his child (21). All in all, the parents have a special responsibility to the child even if they did not want or were not expecting a baby in the first place, they should act responsibly in virtue of being their biological parents. I, however, only partially agree with their argument mentioned above. I agree completely in that abortion should be performed if the woman has a disease that will endanger her life as well as the baby’s. Nonetheless, in the second example, although it was their fault for causing their child to not develop properly, I think that the parents should be given the choice to perform abortion or to keep their child. Like I mentioned in the beginning, if I were to have a child that is deformed or is mentally unstable, then I would get an abortion even if it is 100 percent my fault. I want my baby to be happy, and I know for a fact that my baby might not be happy in the future because of their defect and I will never forgive myself because my child does not deserve to go through hardship because of the actions that I’ve done. For this reason, I would not call it unjust killing in this case. After critically analyzing Lee and George’s argument, I come to a conclusion that it is very difficult to draw a line between keeping one’s life or being responsible for one’s actions. On the one hand, if the woman voluntarily put herself into a situation where it might bring her the existence of a person, then in this case no matter what, she is held responsible and accountable for her actions since to make that ‘choice' after a pregnancy is underway, merely as a matter of birth control, is an immoral act. So, abortion is morally wrong since the mother had sexual intercourse of her own free will. On the other hand, the situation becomes complicated when one has to choose whether it is better to get an abortion if there is something wrong with the baby due to the parent’s actions. Would one save the life or choose to abort although this was also their responsibility? With all my aforementioned reasons, I am still in between pro-life and pro-choice because I believe that abortion can be permissible depending on the situation.

Molarity Example Problem Converting Mass to Moles

Molarity is a unit in chemistry that quantifies the concentration of a solution by measuring moles of solute per liter of solution. The concept of molarity can be tough to grasp, but with enough practice, youll be converting mass to moles in no time. Use this example molarity calculation of a sugar solution to practice. The sugar (the solute) is dissolved in water (the solvent). Calculating Molarity Example Problem In this problem, a four gram sugar cube (sucrose: C12H22O11) is dissolved in a 350-milliliter cup of hot water. Find the molarity of the sugar solution. Start with the equation for molarity: M (molarity) m/V m: number of moles of soluteV: volume of solvent (Liters) Then, use the equation and follow these steps to calculate molarity. Step 1: Determine Moles of Solute The first step in calculating molarity is to determine the number of moles in four grams of solute (sucrose) by finding the atomic mass of each atom in the solution. This can be done using the periodic table. The chemical formula for sucrose is C12H22O11: 12 carbon, 22 hydrogen, and 11 oxygen. You will need to multiply the atomic mass of each atom by the number of atoms of that element in a solution. For sucrose, multiply the mass of hydrogen (which is about 1) by the number of hydrogen atoms (22) in sucrose. You may need to use more significant figures for the atomic masses for your calculations, but for this example, only 1 significant figure was given for the mass of sugar, so one significant figure for atomic mass is used. Once you have the product of each atom, add together the values to get the total grams per mole of sucrose. See the calculation below. C12H22O11 (12)(12) (1)(22) (16)(11)C12H22O11 144 22 176C12H22O11 342 g/mol To get the number of moles in a specific mass of solution, divide the mass in grams by the number of grams per mole in the sample. See below. 4 g/(342 g/mol) 0.0117 mol Step 2: Determine the Volume of Solution in Liters In the end, you need the volume of both the solution and the solvent, not one or the other. Often, however, the amount of solute dissolved in a solution doesnt change the volume of the solution enough to affect your final answer, so you can simply use the volume of solvent. Exceptions to this are often made clear in a problems instructions. For this example, just convert milliliters of water to liters. 350 ml x (1L/1000 ml) 0.350 L Step 3: Determine the Molarity of the Solution The third and final step is to plug the values you have obtained in steps one and two into the molarity equation. Plug 0.0117 mol in for m and 0.350 in for V. M m/VM 0.0117 mol/0.350 LM 0.033 mol/L Answer The molarity of the sugar solution is 0.033 mol/L. Tips for Success Be sure to use the same number of significant figures, which you should have obtained from the period table, throughout your calculation. Not doing so can give you an incorrect or imprecise answer. When in doubt, use the number of significant figures provided to you in the problem in the mass of solute. Keep in mind that not every solution is comprised of only one substance. For solutions made by mixing two or more liquids, finding the correct volume of solution is particularly important. You cant always just add together the volumes of each to get the final volume. If you mix alcohol and water, for example, the final volume will be less than the sum of the volumes of alcohol and water. The concept of miscibility comes into play here and in examples like it.