The full form of ppm is parts per million.
As stated in the provided reference, ppm is used to express the concentration of a substance when it is present in a small amount. To put it simply, it indicates how many units of a substance are present for every one million units of the total mixture. For example, if you have 1 ppm of a particular chemical in water, that means there is 1 unit of that chemical for every 1 million units of water.
Here is a breakdown for clarity:
- Parts: This refers to the quantity of a particular substance.
- Per Million: This means the substance is present in relation to one million parts of the total mixture.
Understanding ppm is crucial in various fields like:
- Environmental science: For measuring pollutants in air or water.
- Chemistry: For indicating the concentration of solutions.
- Food and beverage industry: For monitoring additives and contaminants.
Using ppm allows for very small concentrations to be expressed in a clear and understandable way.