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How to Estimate the Amount of Silicon in Glass

Glass is chemically the same as beach sand and quartz, as they are all made of silicon dioxide, or SiO2. The two elements, oxygen and silicon, are the most and second-most abundant elements in the Earth's crust, respectively. The silicon dioxide in these substances takes on different appearances from the crystal structure, or lack of it, and the impurities that find their way into the material. To estimate the amount of silicon in a piece of glass, first find the weight percentage of silicon in SiO2, then weigh the glass item and multiply its weight by the percentage.

Things You'll Need

Calculator
Scale

Instructions

- 1
  Enter 16, the atomic weight of oxygen in atomic mass units, or AMUs, and multiply it by two, since glass molecules have two oxygen atoms for every silicon atom. The result is 32. Add 28, the atomic weight of silicon, to this. The result is 60.
- 2
  Divide 28, the atomic weight of silicon, by 60, the total weight of the glass molecule. The result is .4667, or 46.67 percent.
- 3
  Weigh the glass item on the scale.
- 4
  Key the weight into the calculator. Multiply it by .4667. Press the equals key to find the weight of the silicon in the glass. For example, if the weight of a glass jar is 250 grams, 250 x .4667 = 116.6 grams. This is the weight of the silicon in the jar's glass.

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