#SOLUTION CHEMISTRY CALCULATOR HOW TO#

C 2 = the final concentration (usually lower than C 1).

Usually this is what you are solving for.

V 1 = the amount of stock solution you need to add.

C 1 = the initial concentration of your solution.

#SOLUTION CHEMISTRY CALCULATOR HOW TO#

The basic equation for figuring out how to make dilutions is: C 1V 1 = C 2V 2. Many students want to reach for the calculator first, without writing out the equation often, this leads to the wrong answer. The unwanted units should cancel out, leaving you with the units you want.

Write it all on paper, including the units. You'll need to use the appropriate conversion factor. Suppose you have a solution of DNA at a concentration of 1 mg/ml and you want to express that concentration in μg/ml. Conversions using conversion factorsĪ conversion factor is the relationship between one unit and another for example, 1000 μg = 1 ml. An answer like 0.00113045 ml would definitely be wrong it might be mathematically correct, but it's unrealistic in its precision and impractical in terms of how you'd pipet it. If the answer is 0.10 μl, you don't need to write 0.100 μl, because you don't set the pipet that way.Īlso, if the correct answer is 1.00 μl, someone might give an answer like 0.001 ml or even 10 -6 ml, but I wouldn't consider these answers correct because they don't reflect the way you would perform the experiment and don't have the correct number of significant figures. If you're using a P-2 to pipet 1 μl, you'd set it at 1.00 μl, so 1.00 μl would be the correct answer for a quiz. Most of the lab experiments are done with a Pipetman, which has a practical precision of three significant figures. Significant figuresīe realistic about your significant figures the level of precision should reflect the way you would do the experiment.

You don’t need to remember that a nanogram is 10 -9 grams just remember that there are 1000 ng in 1 μg and 1000 μg in 1 mg and 1000 mg in 1 g. For each step, you multiply or divide by 1000. Alternatively, you could remember: m > μ > n > p. You could memorize this list, and you'll be ready to do the various conversions in the Bio 6B lab. 1 μg = 1 microgram = 10 -3 mg = 10 -6 g (that’s a greek letter μ, not a u).The prefixes we normally use in this course are in multiples of 1000: If you do a 10-fold dilution, you'll have a concentration of 0.1X. For example, if you start with an unknown concentration of a bacterial culture, you could call it X. You'll use the mysterious X frequently in lab. We’ll use these units for DNA and proteins, which are variable in size. g/l, or μg/μl, or similar units (mass over volume).Percent (%) usually means mass/volume: For example, if you want to make a gel with an agarose concentration of 0.5%, you would use 0.5 g agarose per 100 ml of solution.In this lab, we’ll usually express concentrations in μM or mM. Molar (M), defined as moles of solute per liter of solution.I'm sure you are familiar with these from your chemistry and physics classes:Ĭoncentration, or the amount of stuff in a given volume, can be given several ways: For the labs in this course, there are only a few kinds of units, and the prefixes that go with them.

If you work in a lab, you need to pay attention to units of measurement.

Almost all of them are either conversions or dilutions, so two basic kinds of equations will solve all your problems. You'll need to do a lot of calculations in Bio 6B.

Solution chemistry calculator