Under what circumstances do you need to perform dilution(s)?

Dilution is a process commonly used in various scientific and everyday situations to reduce the concentration of a solute in a solution. There are several circumstances in which you might need to perform dilutions:

1. Experimental procedures: In scientific experiments, it is often necessary to work with solutions of specific concentrations. If a solution is too concentrated to work with, a dilution can be performed to reduce the concentration to a more manageable level.

2. Analytical techniques: Many analytical techniques, such as spectrophotometry or titration, require solutions of known concentrations. If the initial solution concentration is higher than the desired concentration range for the analysis, dilution is necessary.

3. Medical and pharmaceutical industries: In medical laboratories or pharmaceutical manufacturing, dilutions are commonly used to create solutions of precise concentrations for diagnostic tests or drug formulations.

4. Household applications: Dilution is often performed in household chores as well. For example, when using concentrated cleaning agents or sanitizers, you might dilute them with water to make them safer or more effective for specific tasks.

To perform a dilution, you typically need the following information:

1. Initial concentration: The starting concentration of the solution that needs to be diluted.

2. Desired concentration: The target concentration you want to achieve after dilution.

3. Volume: The total volume of the diluted solution you want to obtain.

Using this information, you can calculate the amount of the starting solution and the diluent (usually water) required to achieve the desired concentration. The specific calculation involves using the equation: C1V1 = C2V2, where C1 is the initial concentration, V1 is the initial volume, C2 is the desired concentration, and V2 is the desired volume.