Chapter 14, Problem 102E

Water softeners often replace calcium ions in hard water with sodium ions. Because sodium compounds are soluble, the presence of sodium ions in water does not cause the white, scaly residues caused by calcium ions. However, calcium is more beneficial to human health than sodium because calcium is necessary part of the human diet, while high levels of sodium intake are linked to increase in blood pressure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that adults ingest less than 2.4 g of sodium per day. How many liters of softened water, containing a sodium concentration of 0.050% sodium by mass, does a person have to consume to exceed the FDA recommendation? (Assume a water density of 1.0 g/mL.)