| H 1 Hydrogen 1.00794 | Periodic Table | He 2 Helium 4.002602 | |||||||||||||||
| Li 3 Lithium 6.941 | Be 4 Beryllium 9.012182 | of the Elements | B 5 Boron 10.811 | C 6 Carbon 12.0107 | N 7 Nitrogen 14.0067 | O 8 Oxygen 15.9994 | F 9 Fluorine 18.9984032 | Ne 10 Neon 20.1797 | |||||||||
| Na 11 Sodium 22.98976... | Mg 12 Magnesium 24.305 | mouse/touch for more information | Al 13 Aluminum 26.9815386 | Si 14 Silicon 28.0855 | P 15 Phosphorus 30.973762 | S 16 Sulfur 32.065 | Cl 17 Chlorine 35.453 | Ar 18 Argon 39.948 | |||||||||
| K 19 Potassium 39.948 | Ca 20 Calcium 40.078 | Sc 21 Scandium 44.955912 | Ti 22 Titanium 47.867 | V 23 Vanadium 50.9415 | Cr 24 Chromium 51.9961 | Mn 25 Manganese 54.938045 | Fe 26 Iron 55.845 | Co 27 Cobalt 58.933195 | Ni 28 Nickel 58.6934 | Cu 29 Copper 63.546 | Zn 30 Zinc 65.38 | Ga 31 Gallium 69.723 | Ge 32 Germanium 72.63 | As 33 Arsenic 74.9216 | Se 34 Selenium 78.96 | Br 35 Bromine 79.904 | Kr 36 Krypton 83.798 |
| Rb 37 Rubidium 85.4678 | Sr 38 Strontium 87.62 | Y 39 Yttrium 88.90585 | Zr 40 Zirconium 91.224 | Nb 41 Niobium 92.90628 | Mo 42 Molybdenum 95.96 | Tc 43 Technetium (98) | Ru 44 Ruthenium 101.07 | Rh 45 Rhodium 102.9055 | Pd 46 Palladium 106.42 | Ag 47 Silver 107.8682 | Cd 48 Cadmium 112.411 | In 49 Indium 114.818 | Sn 50 Tin 118.71 | Sb 51 Antimony 121.76 | Te 52 Tellurium 127.6 | I 53 Iodine 126.90447 | Xe 54 Xenon 131.293 |
| Cs 55 Caesium 132.9054 | Ba 56 Barium 132.9054 | Hf 72 Hafnium 178.49 | Ta 73 Tantalum 180.94788 | W 74 Tungsten 183.84 | Re 75 Rhenium 186.207 | Os 76 Osmium 190.23 | Ir 77 Iridium 192.217 | Pt 78 Platinum 195.084 | Au 79 Gold 196.966569 | Hg 80 Mercury 200.59 | Ti 81 Thallium 204.3833 | Pb 82 Lead 207.2 | Bi 83 Bismuth 208.9804 | Po 84 Polonium (209) | At 85 Astatine (210) | Rn 86 Radon (222) | |
| Fr 87 Francium (223) | Ra 88 Radium (226) | Rf 104 Rutherfordium (267) | Db 105 Dubnium (268) | Sg 106 Seaborgium (271) | Bh 107 Bohrium (272) | Hs 108 Hassium (270) | Mt 109 Meitnerium (276) | Ds 110 Darmstadium (281) | Rg 111 Roentgenium (280) | Cn 112 Copernicium (285) | Uut 113 Unutrium (284) | Uuq 114 Flerovium (289) | UuP 115 Ununpentium (288) | Lv 116 Livermorium (293) | Uus 117 Ununseptium (294) | Uuo 118 Ununoctium (294) | |
| La 57 Lanthanum 138.90547 | Ce 58 Cerium 140.116 | Pr 59 Praseodymium 140.90765 | Nd 60 Neodymium 144.242 | Pm 61 Promethium (145) | Sm 62 Samarium 150.36 | Eu 63 Europium 151.964 | Gd 64 Gadolinium 157.25 | Tb 65 Terbium 158.92535 | Dy 66 Dysprosium 162.5 | Ho 67 Holmium 164.93032 | Er 68 Erbium 167.259 | Tm 69 Thulium 168.93421 | Yb 70 Ytterbium 173.054 | Lu 71 Lutetium 174.9668 | |||
| Ac 89 Actinium (227) | Th 90 Thorium 232.03806 | Pa 91 Protactinium 231.0588 | U 92 Uranium 238.02891 | Np 93 Neptunium (237) | Pu 94 Plutonium (244) | Am 95 Americium (243) | Cm 96 Curium (247) | Bk 97 Berkelium (247) | Cf 98 Californium (251) | Es 99 Einstenium (252) | Fm 100 Fermium (257) | Md 101 Mendelevium (258) | No 102 Nobelium (259) | Lr 103 Lawrencium (262) | |||
The concentration of a solution represents how strong or weak it is. For everyday purposes, you express concentration as a percentage--at the drug store, for example, you can buy 35 percent rubbing alcohol. In chemistry, however, you usually express concentration in terms of "molarity"--"moles" of solute per liter of water. Once you know a solution's starting molarity--its "initial concentration"--you can use a simple equation to calculate what its molarity would become if you diluted it to a certain volume--its "final concentration."
Convert your grams of solute into moles, keeping in mind that one mole of a substance is equal to its molecular mass (in atomic mass units, "amu") represented in grams. As an example, consider a 124.5 grams of calcium carbonate, CaCO3. Per the periodic table, calcium carbonate's molecular mass is 100.09 amu, which means its "molar mass" is 100.09 grams. Calculate moles using the following conversion factor: 124g CaCO3 X (1 mol CaCO3/100.09 g CaCO3) = 1.24 mol CaCO3.
Calculate molarity--moles of solute per liter of solvent. For example, imagine you wish to dissolve the 124.5 grams of CaCO3 in two liters of water. Divide your moles of solute by liters of solvent--in this case, water--to figure molarity. 124.5 grams of calcium carbonate--1.24 mol CaCO3--dissolved in two liters of water has a concentration of .62 moles per liter, or .62 M.
Sciencing Video Vault
Plug your values into the "Dilution Equation," Ci x Vi = Cf x Vf, where "C" and "V" represent "concentration" (in moles per liter) and "volume" (in liters) and "i" and "f" represent "initial" and "final," respectively. Imagine you want to dilute your calcium carbonate solution to a volume of 3.5 liters. In this case, (.62)(2) = (Cf)(3.5), 1.24 = 3.5(Cf) and 1.24/3.5 = Cf. The final concentration, therefore, is equal to .35 M.
Tip
Use the periodic table to calculate molecular masses by adding the atomic weights of all the atoms in your compound. For example, water--H2O--contains two hydrogens and one oxygen, each hydrogen weighing 1.00 amu and oxygen weighing 16.00 amu. Water, thus, has a molecular mass of 18.00 amu.
