Units of Concentration

● A solution is a homogeneous
mixture of one substance (the
solute) dissolved in another
substance (the solvent).
● Concentration is a ratio of the
amount of solute to the amount of
solvent.
 Units of Concentration

● Percent volume
% volume = volume solute (ml) x 100
volume solution (ml)
● Percent mass
% mass = mass solute (g) x 100
mass solution (g)

Solution = solvent + solute

 Units of Concentration

Example 1:
What is the percent by volume concentration of a
solution in which 75.0 ml of ethanol is diluted to a
volume of 250.0 ml?

75.0 ml x 100 = 30.0%

250.0 ml
 Units of Concentration

Example 2:
What volume of acetic acid is present in a bottle containing
350.0 ml of a solution which measures 5.00%
concentration?

x = 0.05
350.0 ml

x = 17.5 ml
 Units of Concentration

Example 3:
Find the percent by mass in which 41.0 g of NaCl is
dissolved in 331 grams of water.

41 g x 100 = 11.0%
372 g
 Units of Concentration

● Molarity (M) is the most common unit of

concentration
● Molarity is an expression of moles/Liter of
the solute.
 Units of Concentration

● A mole is the SI unit of number of particles and

can be used as an expression of the molecular
weight of a substance.

The formula weight of an

element is expressed as
grams/mole
 Units of Concentration

● The molar mass of a compound can be

calculated by adding the molar mass of the
individual elements.

22.99 + 35.45 = 58.44 g/mol

 Making Solutions

● You just calculated the molar mass of sodium

chloride to be 58.44 g/mol.
● To determine how to make a stock solution of
sodium chloride, use the formula:

g = M x L x molar mass
 Making Solutions
● How many grams of NaCl would you need to prepare
200.0 mL of a 5 M solution?
g = M x L x molar mass
g = (5mol/L) (0.2L) (58.44g/mol)
g = 58.44 g
 Diluting Solutions

● Often once you have made a stock

solution, you need to dilute it to a working
concentration.
● To determine how to dilute the stock
solution, use the formula:
C1 – concentration of stock
C1V1 = C 2V2 C2 - concentration of diluted solution
V1 – volume needed of stock
V2 – final volume of dilution
 Diluting Solutions

Example 5:
How many milliliters of a 5 M stock solution of NaCl are
needed to prepare 100 ml of a 0.4 M solution?

C1 V1 = C 2 V2
(5) V1 = (0.4)(100)
V1= 8 ml
 Diluting Solutions

● Serial Dilutions are dilutions made in series (for

example, if you needed to make solutions that
were 2M, 1M, 0.5M, and 0.25 M)
● The formula for serial dilutions is:

Dilution Factor = (V1 + V2) V1 – volume of solution being diluted

V1 V2 – volume of solvent
 Units of Concentration

Example 6:
Propose a method to prepare 100 ml of a 0.5 M glucose
solution from a 5 M glucose solution.
10 = (v1 + 100)
v1

10v1 = v1 + 100
-v1 -v1

9v1 = 100
9 9

v1 = 11.1 ml of 5 M glucose + 100 ml H2O

Diluting Solutions

Dilutions tutorial