Question

a student performed a series of titrations to find the concentration of an unknown acid. the results of the titration are shown in the data table. what is the mean of this data set?
trial | concentration
1 | 0.971 m
2 | 0.982 m
3 | 1.02 m
4 | 0.971 m
5 | 0.976 m
options: 0.971 m, 1.00 m, 0.984 m, 0.979 m

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the data points

The concentration values are \( 0.971 \, \text{M} \), \( 0.982 \, \text{M} \), \( 1.02 \, \text{M} \), \( 0.971 \, \text{M} \), and \( 0.976 \, \text{M} \).

Step2: Sum the data points

\[

$$\begin{align*} \text{Sum} &= 0.971 + 0.982 + 1.02 + 0.971 + 0.976 \\ &= 0.971 + 0.982 = 1.953 \\ 1.953 + 1.02 = 2.973 \\ 2.973 + 0.971 = 3.944 \\ 3.944 + 0.976 = 4.92 \end{align*}$$

\]

Step3: Calculate the mean

The mean is the sum divided by the number of data points (which is 5).
\[
\text{Mean} = \frac{4.92}{5} = 0.984 \, \text{M}
\]

Answer:

\( 0.984 \, \text{M} \) (corresponding to the option "0.984 M")