1 LAB MATH: EXPRESSING CONCENTRATIONS | CLIN CHEM 1 LEC | PRELIMS

LECTURE TOPIC 2:

LABORATORY MATHEMATICS: EXPRESSING CONCENTRATIONS

DEFINITION OF TERMS
O Solution -
O Solute -
O Solvent -
O Concentration -

HOW TO EXPRESS THE CONCENTRATION OF SOLUTIONS?

• Percent concentration: 0.9% Normal saline solution

• Molarity: 0.109 M buffered sodium citrate

• Molality: 5 moles/kg sucrose solution
• Normality: 2 N NaCl

PERCENT CONCENTRATION
- relationship

3 ways to express the concentration of a solution through % concentration:

1. % w/v (weight/volume)
2. %w/w (weight/weight)
3. %v/v (volume/volume)

1) % w/v
O used as a unit of measurement when the solute is a __________ and the solvent is a __________
O Grams of solute per 100 mL of the total solution
O Units: % w/v= __________

2) % v/v
O Both solute and solvent are __________
O Units: % v/v= __________

3) % w/w
O Use the weight of the final solution rather than the volume
O Units: % w/w= __________
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EXAMPLES:
1. What weight of glucose is needed to prepare 250 mL of a 15% w/v solution?

2. A solution contains 24g of solute in 300mL solution. What is the percent concentration?

3. Describe how to prepare 200 mL of a 5% v/v solution of methanol.

4. How much ethanol is needed to prepare 150 mL of 15% v/v solution? How much dH2O is added in preparing the
solution? How to prepare the solution?

5. What is the %w/w if 8.0 grams of copper is added to zinc to produce 100 grams of an alloy?

6. How would you make 200 mL of a 15% salt in a water solution?

7. Make 300 grams of a 20% w/w aqueous solution of sodium chloride.

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MOLARITY
• MOLE
• ATOMIC/MOLECULAR WEIGHT
o is the actual mass of the chemical particle relative to the mass of the carbon atom
• the number of moles of solute in one (1) liter of solution
• Molecular wt x molarity = __________
Weight of the solute
• Molarity = ---------------------------------------------
Molecular weight x Liter of solution
• Unit: __________

EXAMPLES:
1. There are 20g NaCl in 400 mL of solution. What is its molarity? (Na: 23 ; Cl: 35)

2. How many grams of sodium hydroxide are contained in 500 milliliter of a 4 molar solution? (Na: 23 ; O: 16 ; H: 1)

3. If NaCl has gMW of 58 g/mole, how many of the solute is added to 6 Molar solution of NSS to come up with 2 L?

4. A solution contain 3.5 grams of hydrochloric acid in 1 L. How many mmol does it contain? (H: 1 ; Cl: 35)

5. Make 300mL of 6M NaCl.

MOLALITY
• the number of moles of solute in one thousand grams (1000) grams or 1 kg of solvent rather than the final
solution
Weight of the solute
• Molality = ------------------------------------------------
Molecular weight x kilogram of solvent

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• Unit: __________

EXAMPLES:
1. What is the molality of a solution if 127 grams of NaCl is dissolved in 1000 grams of dH20?

2. How many grams of NaCl would be in a 100g of a 1 molal solution?

NORMALITY
• Number of equivalent weights per Liter of solution
Weight of the solute
• Normality = -----------------------------------------------
Equivalent weight x Liter of solution
• Equivalent Weight
o The mass of an element or compound that will combine with or replace one mole of hydrogen
o Is dependent on the total charge of the positive ion, or the valence, of the element
MW
o EW = --------------------
Valence
• If the compound is an acid, an equivalent is the quantity of substance that contains one replaceable hydrogen
• If it is a base or a salt, an equivalent is the quantity of a substance that will react with one replaceable hydrogen

VALENCE EW

NaCl

BaCl2

K2CO3

CaSO4

AlCl3

Fe2(SO4) 3

EXAMPLES:
1. What is the normality of a solution that contains 150 grams of sodium chloride per liter?

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2. How do you make 500 mL of a 2N NaCl?

3. Calculate the barium chloride concentration in mEq/L of a solution prepared by diluting 25 grams of barium
chloride to 2 L. (Barium = 137.33; Chloride = 35.45)

4. How many milliequivalents are in 1L of a 4.5N HCl solution?

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