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Author: Subject: Diluting 70% alcohol brain f***
highpower48
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 08:29
Diluting 70% alcohol brain f***


Having a major brain fart. I need to dilute 70% ethyl alcohol to 50%. Common sense says if you have say 100ml of 70% all you need to do is add 30ml water to make it 50%, but I can't make the math work out to prove it. Am I correct on the assumption of just adding the 30ml of water to make the 50% solution?

Also can you use use isopropanol alcohol to make phenolphthalein?

Thanks
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MrHomeScientist
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 08:34


M1V1 = M2V2

(70)(100) = (50)(x)
x = 140

Therefore, you need to add 40mL of water to your 100mL of 70% alcohol.


Also, you don't really need to censor 'fart'. :D I think most of us are adults here. (?)
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Diachrynic
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 08:36


Or you think of it like this:

100 ml 70% EtOH means 70 ml EtOH and 30 ml H2O.
Bring that equal to make 50% requires 40 ml H2O to be added to have 70 ml EtOH and 70 ml H2O

[Edited on 28-2-2018 by Diachrynic]




we apologize for the inconvenience
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Sulaiman
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 08:38


100 ml 70% ABV contains 70 ml pure ethanol,
to dilute 70 ml ethanol to 50%ABV you need 70ml water, so 140ml total
You need to add 40ml water to 100ml 70%ABV ethanol to get 50%ABV




CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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DJF90
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 09:07


For best results, make the solution up to the desired volume (don't just add 40 mL - density changes can mean this leads to an inaccurate dilution).
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aga
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 09:29


Rather than [M] in the formula, memorise "concentration1 x volume1 = concentration2 x volume2", i.e. :-
$$C_{1}V_1 = C_{2}V_2$$
where C is concentration ([M], w% whatever) and V is volume (ml, litres, pints etc).

In this case, you want the V2 term, so rearrange the formula to get:
$$V_2 = \frac {C_{1}V_1} {C_2}$$
stick in your values :
$$V_2 = \frac {70\text % \text x 100\text ml} {50\text %} = 140ml $$

So to get your 100ml of 70% EtOH to 50%, top up the volume with water to 140ml.

Exactly the same answer as MrHomeScientist's, just with some LaTeX ;)


[Edited on 28-2-2018 by aga]




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MrHomeScientist
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 10:48


Whoops, looks like I misremembered the symbols for that equation! I think I went to M for molarity since that's what I usually work in.
But hey, pick any symbols you want as long as the math stays the same: [bear1][lemon1] = [bear2][lemon2]

Thanks aga.
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aga
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[*] posted on 28-2-2018 at 10:59


When you switch to Pints and w%, the maths goes all wrong at about 6 for the volume and definitely a max of 9 for the concentration, where Pints[beer] x Conc[EtOH] = BrainState.

Here's the supporting data from a paper by aga et al, 1990,1991, 1992, thru 2018


pints.jpg - 14kB

[Edited on 28-2-2018 by aga]




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