LABORATORY MATHEMATICS

UNIT CONVERSIONS
P E RC E N T S O LU T I O N S
MOLARITY
D I LU T I O N S
𝒑𝑯
𝑝𝑶𝐻
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

 At the end of the topic, the students can:

a. compute for Normality, Molarity, % solutions
b. carry out unit conversions
c. prepare various dilutions of samples and
chemicals
SI UNIT CONVERSIONS
 Système International d'Unités (SI)

 Adopted internationally in 1960, is preferred

in scientific literature and clinical laboratories
and is the only system employed in many
countries
 The SI system units (referred to as SI units) are
based on the METRIC SYSTEM.
 Several subclassifications exist within the SI
system, one of which is the BASIC UNIT.
Système International d'Unités (SI)
 Système International d'Unités (SI)

 The SI uses STANDARD PREFIXES that,

when added to a given basic unit, can indicate
decimal fractions or multiples of that unit.
Système International d'Unités (SI)
 Système International d'Unités (SI)

 EXAMPLE:

0.001 liter can be expressed using the prefix milli,

or 10-3, and since it requires moving the decimal
point three places to the right, it can then be written
as 1 milliliter, or abbreviated as 1 mL.

***It may also be written in scientific notation as

1 × 10-3 L
 Système International d'Unités (SI)

 EXAMPLE:

1,000 liter can be expressed using the prefix ___,

or ___, and since it requires moving the decimal
point three places to the ___, it can then be written
as ___, or abbreviated as ___.

***It may also be written in scientific notation as

_______
 UNIT CONVERSION EXAMPLES:

 Example 1: Convert 1.0 L to μL

 Example 2: Convert 5 mL to μL

 Example 3: Convert 5.3 mL to dL

 Example 1: Convert 1.0 L to μL

 1.0 L (1 × 100) = ? // μL (micro = 10-6)

 move the decimal place six places to the right and it

becomes 1,000,000 μL

 reverse the process to determine the expression in L

(move the decimal six places to the left of 1,000,000
μL to get 1.0 L).
PERCENT SOLUTIONS
 CONCENTRATION
 Solutions can be described in terms of the
concentration of the components of the solution.

 SOLUTE (Analyte) + SOLVENT = SOLUTION

 Analyte concentration in solution can be expressed

in many ways.

 Routinely, concentration is expressed as percent

solution, molarity, molality, or normality
 PERCENT SOLUTIONS

 PERCENT (%) = parts per 100

 Can be described as:
1. w/w, which is expressed as weight (mass) per 100
units of weight (g/g).
2. w/v, which is expressed as weight (mass) per 100
units of volume (g/dL)
3. v/v, which is expressed as volume (mL) per unit of
volume (mL).
 EXAMPLE #1

 How much NaOH is needed to make 1,000 mL of

10% solution (w/v)?

***NOTE: Percent (%) concentration is independent of the molecular

weight of the substance.
 EXAMPLE #2

 Make up 50mL of a 2% (v/v) concentrated

hydrochloric acid solution.
 NOTE:

When preparing concentrated ACID

solutions,
ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER (A-W)

Mnemonic: “get, get, AW!”

MOLARITY
 MOLARITY

 Number of moles per 1L of solution (mol/L)

 1 mol of substance = its gram molecular weight

 GMW obtained by adding the atomic

weights of the component elements
 EXAMPLE #1

 HOW MANY GRAMS ARE NEEDED TO

MAKE 1L OF 2M SOLUTION OF HCl?
 EXAMPLE #2

 How to prepare 250mL of 4.8M solution of

acetic acid?
RATIO & DILUTION
SIMPLE DILUTIONS
SERIAL DILUTIONS
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
 RATIO & DILUTION

DILUTION:
- Weakened solutions

- Ratio of a concentrated or stock solution to

the final volume of a solution
 RATIO & DILUTION

DILUTION:
- Composed of:
a. substance to be diluted (serum,
red cells, urine, acids, etc.)
b. diluent
- DILUTION FACTOR
 RATIO & DILUTION

 Ratio = volume of solute / volume of solvent

 Dilution = volume of solute / volume of solution

 SINGLE DILUTION

 Dilute 1mL of serum with 9mL of saline.

 Example #1

 Five milliliters of serum is diluted up to

25mL with saline. What is the serum
dilution? What is the serum to saline ratio?
 Example #2

 Dilute 3mL of a serum with 25mL of saline.

What is the dilution?
 Example #3

 Make 250mL of a 1/10 dilution of serum in

saline.
 SERIAL DILUTION

 Production of a solution having different

concentrations of the same substance.

 The concentration of the solution being

diluted decreases with increased dilution.
 Example #1

a. What is the dilution if you add 1mL aliquot of

a specimen to 9mL of diluent?

b. All successive tubes would have 9mL of

diluent. You would then transfer 1mL of the
initial diluted sample into the next tube, mix,
transfer 1mL to the next, mix and so on. If you
had 5 tubes what would be the final dilution of
tube 4?
 Example #2

 You are given a series of 5 tubes, each of

which contains 2mL of diluent. 0.5 mL is
carried out in the remaining tubes. What is
the dilution of the mixture in tube 3 and
tube 5?
CONVERSIONS
MOLARITY  NORMALITY

NORMALITY  MOLARITY

MOLARITY/NORMALITY  %w/v

mg/dL  mmol/L or vice versa

mg/dL  mEq/L
 FORMULA

1. M  N and N  M

 N = (M)(Valence)

 M = N / Valence

*valence – is the number of H+ & OH-

 EXAMPLE #1

 Convert 6N NaOH to molarity.

 Convert 10M H2 SO4 to normality.

 FORMULA

2. % to N or M and VICE VERSA

 Convert 30% NaCl (w/v) to molarity (MW: 58.44)

 Convert 3N H2 SO4 to a percentage (MW: 98)

 FORMULA

3. mg/dL to mEq/L and vice versa

 A sodium concentration is reported as 250 mg/dL.

What is its concentration in mEq/L? (MW=22.99)
 FORMULA

4. mg/dL to mmol/L

 A calcium concentration is reported as 10 mg/dL.

What is its concentration in mmol/L? (MW=40.08)