Rationale
72 mL of water make up the solution.
The solution is composed of 40% acid and therefore, the remaining 60% would be water. To calculate the volume of water in the solution, multiply the total volume of the solution (120 mL) by the percentage of water (60%).
A) 40 mL
The 40 mL value represents 40% of the total solution, which is the volume of the acid, not the water. This is not the correct answer because we are looking for the volume of the water, which makes up the remaining 60% of the solution.
B) 60 mL
60 mL is half of the total solution volume, which would represent a 50% composition. However, the water makes up 60% of the solution, not 50%, so this is not the correct answer.
C) 72 mL
72 mL is 60% of the total solution volume (120 mL), which is the correct proportion for the volume of the water in the solution. This is the correct answer.
D) 48 mL
48 mL represents 40% of the total solution volume, which is the volume of the acid, not the water. This is not the correct answer because we are looking for the volume of the water, which makes up the remaining 60% of the solution.
Conclusion
In a 120 mL solution with 40% acid, the remaining 60% is water. To find the volume of the water in the solution, we multiply the total volume of the solution by the percentage of the solution that is water. This gives us 72 mL, which is the correct answer. Therefore, the volume of water in the solution is not 40 mL, 60 mL, or 48 mL, but 72 mL.
