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So I'm new to the dimensional analysis world and I'm little confused and the answers I'm getting are not convincing :(

if the concentration of hemoglobin in a 5ml sample of blood is 34 g/dL. and red blood cells are 31.45 hemoglobin, what is the mass of red blood cells in the sample?

So.. any thoughts on how to do it?

Thank you so much

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It doesn't seem like you need the 31.45 hemoglobin number (which is good because no units are given:

5ml * 34g rbc /dL * 1 dL/ 100 ml = 1.7 g rbc

would fall out from unit analysis

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you!! hemoglobin's unit is percentage. 31.45% so should i just multiply your number it with that? $\endgroup$
    – user6058
    Mar 17, 2014 at 20:07
  • $\begingroup$ Shigeta's equation should have used "hgb" instead of "rbc". To turn 1.7g hgb into rbc, you multiply it by the .3145 hgb/rbc value. Note the dimensional units work out. $\endgroup$
    – mgkrebbs
    Mar 17, 2014 at 20:13

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