Dilution Calculator - C1V1 = C2V2 and Serial Dilutions
Dilution Calculator
How much stock and diluent to mix, plus serial dilution tables
Solve Any Term
Find the stock volume to pipette, the final volume, or either concentration.
Unit Conversions
Mix M with mM or µM, mg/mL with µg/mL, and L with mL or µL.
Serial Dilutions
Plan a 1:10 or 1:2 series with the transfer and diluent volume for each tube.
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Calculated in your browser.
The Dilution Equation
Adding solvent changes the volume but not the amount of solute, so the concentration times the volume stays the same: C1V1 = C2V2. Example: to make 50 mL of 100 mM solution from a 1 M stock, V1 = (100 mM × 50 mL) / 1000 mM = 5 mL. Pipette 5 mL of stock and add 45 mL of solvent.
Both concentrations must be in the same kind of unit: you can convert mM to M, but not mg/mL to M without the molar mass. In a serial dilution, each tube is diluted from the previous one by the same factor, so after n steps of 1:10 the total dilution is 1:10n. Volumes that are not exactly additive, such as ethanol in water, make the result an approximation.
Key Takeaways
- Same unit family: Molar converts to molar and mass/volume to mass/volume.
- Diluent volume: The amount of solvent to add is V₂ minus V₁.
- Sanity check: Swapped stock and final values are caught before you pipette.