The objective of the serial dilution method is to estimate the concentration (number of colonies, organisms, bacteria, or viruses) of an unknown sample by counting the number of colonies cultured from serial dilutions of the sample, and then back track the measured counts to the unknown concentration.
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What is serial dilution example?
In serial dilutions, you multiply the dilution factors for each step. The dilution factor or the dilution is the initial volume divided by the final volume. For example, if you add a 1 mL sample to 9 mL of diluent to get 10 mL of solution, DF=ViVf = 1mL10mL=110 .
What can serial dilution tell you?
Serial dilution is used in microbiology to estimate the concentration or number of cells/organisms in a sample to obtain an incubated plate with an easily countable number of colonies. In biochemistry, serial dilution is used to obtain the desired concentration of reagents and chemicals from a higher concentration.
How is a serial dilution performed?
To perform a serial dilution, a small amount of a well-mixed solution is transferred into a new container, and additional water or other solvent * is added to dilute the original solution. The diluted sample is then used as the base solution to make an additional dilution.
How do you find the concentration of a serial dilution?
A ten-fold serial dilution, which can also be called a 1:10 dilution, or a series with dilution factor of 10. To determine the concentration at each step of the series, you divide the previous concentration by the dilution factor.
What is the difference between simple dilution and serial dilution?

Why are serial dilutions more accurate?
The more evenly spaced the calibration standards are over this range, makes the results of the analysis more reliable. Evenly spaced calibration standards are easier to prepare using serial dilution.
How do you complete a serial dilution of a chemical?

How do you calculate dilutions?
Using C1V1 = C2V To make a fixed amount of a dilute solution from a stock solution, you can use the formula: C1V1 = C2V2 where: V1 = Volume of stock solution needed to make the new solution. C1 = Concentration of stock solution. V2 = Final volume of new solution.
What is one main advantage of using a serial dilution technique?
Serial dilution has many advantages: the materials necessary are typically already present in the lab and require no special engineering. Conditions can be adjusted as the experiment progresses (e.g., drug concentrations increased as drug resistance improves).
What is the advantage of performing a serial dilution instead of a single dilution?
A serial dilution is both more accurate and more convenient than a single dilution. It also gives you the opportunity to bracket your chosen plating dilution, so you have a better chance of getting a countable plate for that reason.
What are the limitations of serial dilution?
Serial dilution processes face two major challenges. The first is error propagation across columns or rows. With each sequential serial dilution step, transfer inaccuracies lead to less accurate and less precise dispensing. The result is that the highest dilutions will have the most inaccurate results.
What are the types of dilution?
There are 2 main types of dilutions: simple and serial.
How do you dilute a sample?
How much initial sample and diluent should you use? Answer: 1:5 dilution = 1/5 dilution = 1 part sample and 4 parts diluent in a total of 5 parts. If you need 10 ml, final volume, then you need 1/5 of 10 ml = 2 ml sample. To bring this 2 ml sample up to a total volume of 10 ml, you must add 10 ml – 2 ml = 8 ml diluent.
What are two possible errors associated with serial dilution?
There are many potential sources of error. Examples include: incorrect measuring of the sample or diluent; insufficient mixing; not switching pipettes between each step of the serial dilution; contamination because of poor sterile technique; or inadequate mixing of sample and molten agar in the Petri dish.
What are the advantages of dilution?
By performing a dilution on a sample it may reduce the interfering substance to a point where it no longer interferes with the test. When performing a dilution there is a equation that can be used to determine the final concentration.
What is the difference between dilution and concentration?
Dilution is the addition of solvent, which decreases the concentration of the solute in the solution. Concentration is the removal of solvent, which increases the concentration of the solute in the solution.
Is molarity the same as concentration?
Molarity is the most commonly used method of concentration. It is expressed as the number of moles of solute dissolved per litre of solution. Therefore, the unit of the molarity is mol/L. Molarity is also known as molar concentration and is represented by “M.
How do you know if a solution is dilute or concentrated?
A concentrated solution is one that has a relatively large amount of dissolved solute. A dilute solution is one that has a relatively small amount of dissolved solute.
What happens to the solute in a dilution?
Dilution is the process of decreasing the concentration of a solute in a solution, usually simply by mixing with more solvent like adding more water to the solution. To dilute a solution means to add more solvent without the addition of more solute.
Why is the second solution called diluted?

What is the opposite of dilute in chemistry?
Dilution is a decrease in a solution’s concentration, whereas concentration is an increase in a solution’s concentration.
What is opposite of dilution?
Opposite of to make thinner by adding solvent or liquid to a solution. concentrate. strengthen. enrich. fortify.
What is the meaning of dilute in science?
Dilution is the process of adding a solvent to a solution to reduce the concentration of the solute. Concentration is the process of removing solvent from a solution in order to raise the concentration of the solute in the solution.
What is 0.1N solution?
It is indicated using the symbol N, eq/L, or meq/L (= 0.001 N) for units of concentration. For example, the concentration of a hydrochloric acid solution might be expressed as 0.1 N HCl. A gram equivalent weight or equivalent is a measure of the reactive capacity of a given chemical species (ion, molecule, etc.).