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How to calculate dilution

Dilution Calculator

The dilution calculator is a useful tool which allows you to calculate how to dilute a stock solution of known concentration. Enter C1, C2 & V2 to calculate V1.

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Concentration (start)
x
Volume (start)
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Concentration (final)
x
Volume (final)
C1
V1
C2
V2

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The dilution calculator equation

The dilution calculator is based on the following equation:

Concentration(start) x Volume(start) = Concentration(final) x Volume(final)
This equation is commonly abbreviated as: C1V1 = C2V2
An example of a dilution calculation using the dilution calculator

What volume of a given 10 mM stock solution is required to make 20ml of a 50 μM solution?

Using the equation C1V1 = C2V2, where C1=10 mM, C2=50 μM, V2=10 ml and V1 is the unknown:

  1. Enter 10 into the Concentration (start) box and select the correct unit (millimolar)
  2. Enter 50 into the Concentration (final) box and select the correct unit (micromolar)
  3. Enter 20 into the Volume (final) box and select the correct unit (milliliter)
  4. Press calculate
  5. The answer of 100 microliter (0.1 ml) appears in the Volume (start) box
Dilution Calculator FAQ

Dilution Calculator

What is the solution dilution calculator used for?

Meant to be used in both the teaching and research laboratory, this chemical dilution calculator (see below) can be utilized to perform dilution factor calculations when working with molar or percent (%) solutions. See our Molar Solution Concentration Calculator for a definition of molarity and molar solutions. Organic compounds are generally dissolved in DMSO and then diluted with PBS or normal saline. You can easily calculate with this dmso dilution calculator.

How to Calculate Dilutions?

Diluting a Stock Solution to a Desired Working Concentration
Say you have a 6 M stock solution of hydrochloric acid (HCl), and you need 100 mL of 0.5 M HCl to work with in the lab. You will need to take some amount of the stock solution and add diluent to it (water, in this case) in order to achieve a less concentrated solution. Before going on, let's give these different values names so that keeping track of them is easier.
1. The stock solution that you have will be called M1 or molarity one. The subscript number one refers to the fact that this is the initial concentration.
2. The working solution concentration that you want will be called M2 or molarity 2. The subscript number two refers to the fact that this is the second solution you make.
3. The working solution volume that you want will be called V2 or volume 2. This volume is how much solution you want to make to work with in lab.
Now that you have these terms defined, there is actually an equation you can use to calculate the volume of stock solution you will need to use (V1).
This equation is called the dilution equation:
For this example:
Substituting the variables gives you:
You can now solve for V1:
This means that in order to make 100 mL of 0.5M HCl solution you would take 90 mL of water and add 10 mL of 5M HCl. You can use this dilution calculator graphpad to calculate the molarity of a solution prepared by diluting.

Calculation of Dilution

How to calculate dilutions?

You use the formula V1c1=V2c2.
In any dilution, the number of moles of solute stays the same. You are simply increasing the amount of solvent in the solution.
You know that
Moles = litres×(moles÷litres) = volume × molarity = V×c.
So, if moles before dilution = moles after dilution,
V1c1=V2c2.
Example 1. Calculating new concentration
A chemist starts with 50.0 mL of a 0.400 mol/L NaCl solution and dilutes it to 1000. mL. What is the concentration of NaCl in the new solution?
Solution 1
V1c1=V2c2
V1 = 50.0 mL; c1 = 0.400 mol/L
V2 = 1000. mL; c2 = ?
c2=c1×V1/V2 = 0.400 mol/L × (50.0mL÷1000mL) = 0.0200 mol/L
Note: You don't have to convert the volumes to litres, but you must use the same units on each side of the equation.
Example 2. Calculating initial volume
A chemist wants to make 500. mL of 0.0500 mol/L HCl by diluting a 6.00 mol/L HCl solution. How much of that solution should she use?
Solution 2
V1 = 500. mL; c1 = 0.0500 mol/L
V2 = ?; c2 = 6.00 mol/L
V2=V1×c1÷c2 = 500. mL × (0.0500mol/L÷6.00mol/L) = 4.17 mL. You can use this endmemo dilution calculator to calculate.

Dilution of Solutions

What is the Dilution of Solutions?

What is dilution? Dilution is the process of decreasing the concentration of solute in a solution by changing the amount of solvent. The dilute solution definition requires an understanding of basic mixture chemistry. A solution is a type of mixture where one substance, the solute, is dissolved in another substance, the solvent. Dilution chemistry is important for carrying out chemical reactions, manufacturing, biomedical research, and more. Solutions are even present in our everyday life. Salt water is an example of a solution where the solute is salt and the solvent is water.You can use this physiology web dilution calculator to calculate.

Units of Concentration

What is the units of concentration?

Molar concentration c is the amount of substance in a certain volume of the substance. It is expressed in “mole” units (symbol: M), where 1 M = 1 mol/liter.
Mass concentration ρ is the amount of substance in grams in the given volume of a substance. Expressed in grams/liter.
If you want to determine the mass concentration of the solution, you must multiply the molar concentration by the molar mass of substance M (represents in kg / mol):$$ ρ = c * M $$

Dilution Factor Calculator

How to calculate dilution factor?

Before calculating dilutions factor, you need two values namely the original volume of the diluted solution and the final volume of the solution after dilution. You can also get the volume you’ve added to the solution to dilute it. In such a case, the value of the final volume is the original volume plus the value of the added volume.

How do you calculate dilution factor?

You divide the final volume by the initial volume.
Explanation:
DF=Vf÷Vi
EXAMPLE 1:
What is the dilution factor if you add a 0.1 mL aliquot of a specimen to 9.9 mL of diluent?
Solution:
Vf=aliquot volume + diluent volume=(0.1 + 9.9) mL=10.0 mL
DF=Vf÷Vi=10.0mL÷0.1mL=100
You have diluted the sample by a factor of 100.
The dilution factor is often used as the denominator of a fraction.
For example, a DF of 100 means a 1:100 dilution.
EXAMPLE 2:
How would you make 500 mL of a 1:250 dilution?
Solution:
DF=Vf÷Vi
Vi=Vf÷DF=500 mL÷250=2.00 mL
Pipet 2.00 mL of your stock solution into a 500 mL volumetric flask.
Add diluent to the mark on the flask (you will have added about 498 mL of water).
You now have a 1:250 dilution of your original solution.

Calculate amount of solvent needed to dilute

How do you calculate the amount of solvent needed to dilute?

To help scientists calculate the appropriate amount of solvent to dilute a solution, there is a dilution formula. The dilution formula uses the concentration of the starting and ending solute in molarity, or moles per liter solution, and the total volume of the solution in liters. The formula is: M1 V1 = M2 V2
Where M1 is the molarity of the starting solution and V1 is the volume of the starting solution. The M2 is the molarity of the final solution and V2 is the volume of the ending solution.

Serial Dilution Calculator

How do you calculate serial dilutions?

You multiply the original concentration by the dilution factors for each dilution.
Explanation:
A serial dilution is any dilution in which the concentration decreases by the same factor in each successive step.
In serial dilutions, you multiply the dilution factors for each step.
The dilution factor or the dilution is the initial volume divided by the final volume.
DF=Vi÷Vf
For example, if you add a 1 mL sample to 9 mL of diluent to get 10 mL of solution,
DF=Vi÷Vf = 1mL÷10mL=1÷10. This is a 1:10 dilution.
Example 1
What is the dilution factor if you add 0.2 mL of a stock solution to 3.8 mL of diluent?
Vf = 0.2 mL + 3.8 mL = 4.0 mL
DF=Vi÷Vf = 0.2mL÷4.0mL=1÷20. This is a 1:20 dilution.
Example 2
If you did the above dilution four times, what would be the final dilution factor?
Solution 2
Remember that serial dilutions are always made by taking a set quantity of the initial dilution and adding it successively to tubes with the same volume. So you multiply each successive dilution by the dilution factor.
You would transfer 0.2 mL from Tube 1 to 3.8 mL of diluent in Tube 2 and mix. Then transfer 0.2 mL from Tube 2 to 3.8 mL of diluent in Tube 3 and mix. Repeat the process until you have four tubes.
The dilution factor after four dilutions is
DF=(1÷20)×(1÷20)×(1÷20)×(1÷20)=1÷160000 = 1:160 000
If the concentration of the original stock solution was 100 µg/µL, the concentration in Tube 4 would be
100 µg/µL × 1÷160000 = 6.25 × 0.0001 µg/µL

How do you do a 5 fold serial dilution?

Let’s look at an example of a 1:5 dilution. A 1:5 dilution really means - one part, in a total of 5 parts. If 1ml is added to 4mls, you are creating a mixture with 5 total parts (see figure 1 below). This might also be referred to as a 5 fold dilution.
Because the 1ml now occupies just 1 of 5 total parts, it is called a 1:5 dilution.
So how do you figure out how many parts there are in a mixture?
All you need to do is take the total volume that you are creating, and divide by the volume that you just added. So in this case, you would take 5mls (total volume) and divide by 1mls (the volume added). The result is 5, meaning that you added 1 part to a total of 5 parts... this is a 1 to 5 dilution or 1:5 dilution.
This process can be used to determine how to perform any dilution. All you need to know is what the dilution factor is, and how much is needed. Once you have that information you can easily figure the rest out.