Chapter 14 Introduction
Many compounds, such as the medications shown here, keep us healthy and even cure diseases. But these same substances can be quite harmful if taken in the wrong doses.
FotografiaBasica/Getty Images
CHAPTER 14
Measuring Toxins
380
In this chapter, you will study
how lethal doses of toxic substances are measured
ways to count small objects by weighing them
converting between counting units (moles) and mass units
how Avogadro’s number is used
Any substance, even water, can be toxic if too much of it is consumed. Yet many substances that are considered quite harmful are therapeutic when administered in the correct amounts. The dose of a substance is key to determining the safety of that substance. This chapter concentrates on how amounts of matter are measured and counted.