Symptoms of the original toxic compound | Homework Help

Practitioners of homeopathic medicine believe that toxic substances, once appropriately diluted, can have healing effects, usually having the opposite effect of the symptoms of the original toxic compound. There are currently over 3,000 homeopathic medicines available. One common remedy, Arsenicum Album, based on arsenic oxide, is used to treat anxiety, depression, insomnia, various digestive orders and is suggested as a treatment for arsenic poisoning. A typical preparation is 30X; that is, the original substance (arsenic oxide in this case) is diluted by a factor of ten, 30 times in succession (i.e.by serial dilutions).

a. If arsenic oxide is originally in a 1 M solution, what is the concentration after a 30X dilution?

b. A typical dose of a homeopathic remedy is a few drops. How many molecules of arsenic oxide is in 1 mL of the 30X preparation?

c. Proponents of homeopathy claim that molecules can leave an imprint or memory of its structure in its surrounding water molecules. How can this claim be supported? How can it be refuted?