Question

If a 50 g sample of soil absorbs 20 mL of water, the mass of the wet soil sample is _______ g and the percentage of moisture absorption is _______ %. ​

• A. 70; 40 ​
• B. 70; 30 ​
• C. 40; 70 ​
• D. 30; 70​

Answer 1

The correct option is A 70; 40 ​

• It is given that the weight of soil taken is 50g. We have also been given the volume of water absorbed as 20mL.
• It is important to know that 1mL of water weighs 1g. So, 20mL of water weighs 20g.
• Now, the weight of wet sample = weight of dry soil sample + weight of water absorb = 50 + 20 = 70g
• The percentage of water absorption is given by the formula

​​​​​​$=\frac{weightofwaterabsorbed\left(g\right)}{weightofdrysoil\left(g\right)}\times 100=\frac{20}{50}\times 100=40\%$

• Therfore, the weight of the soil sample is 70 g and the percentage of moisture absorption is 40%