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Dilution Calculator

Solve C1V1 = C2V2 for concentration and volume.

Free to use, no sign-up required. Dilution Calculator is one of 198 tools built into Xenition, alongside a chat that can use them for you.

Tells you how much stock solution and how much solvent to mix to reach a target concentration and volume, using the lab formula C1V1 = C2V2.

How to use Dilution Calculator

  1. Choose a Concentration unit (M, mM, µM, mg/mL, µg/mL, % or X) and a Volume unit (mL, L or µL).
  2. Enter the Stock conc. C1 and the Final conc. C2 you want.
  3. Enter the Final vol. V2 you need to make.
  4. Read Stock needed (V1) and Add solvent, plus a one-line recipe.

How it works

V1 = C2 × V2 ÷ C1, and solvent = V2 − V1. Concentration units cancel out, so C1 and C2 share one unit and the volumes come out in the volume unit you picked. If C2 is higher than C1 the tool warns you, since dilution can only lower concentration.

Example

To make 500 mL of 2 M solution from a 10 M stock: V1 = 2 × 500 ÷ 10 = 100 mL of stock, plus 400 mL of solvent.

Questions about Dilution Calculator

What does a 10X stock mean?

It is ten times the working strength. To make 1X, set C1 to 10 and C2 to 1 in the X unit; one part stock goes into ten parts final volume.

Should I add the solvent to the stock or the stock to the solvent?

For acids, always add the acid to the water, never the reverse, to avoid dangerous heat. For most buffers the order does not matter, but top up to the final volume last.

Use it from chat

You do not have to open Dilution Calculator to use it. Ask Xenition in plain language and it runs the right tool, then carries the answer into whatever you are working on — a document, a spreadsheet, a deck.

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