Science & engineering
Serial dilution planner
Build a concentration table for equal-volume repeated dilution steps.
A clear answer. Here’s how.
Each fresh tube receives the stated transferred stock/previous-tube volume and fresh diluent. Per-step fraction = transfer/(transfer+diluent); concentration after step n = initial × fractionⁿ. Reports each prepared volume, the volume left after transfer to the next tube and dilution relative to stock. Last tube has no onward transfer. Assumes complete mixing, solute-free diluent, sufficient starting stock and no reaction or volume contraction.
See a worked example
Worked example
A fixed demonstration, separate from the values you enter above.
- Stock concentration (use one consistent unit)
- 1
- Volume transferred at each step (mL)
- 1
- Fresh diluent added at each step (mL)
- 9
- Number of dilution steps
- 6
Example result
| Step | Concentration (stock unit) | log10 concentration | Dilution factor vs stock | Prepared volume (mL) | Remaining after onward transfer (mL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.1 | -1 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| 2 | 0.01 | -2 | 100 | 10 | 9 |
| 3 | 0.001 | -3 | 1,000 | 10 | 9 |
| 4 | 0.0001 | -4 | 10,000 | 10 | 9 |
| 5 | 0.00001 | -5 | 100,000 | 10 | 9 |
Per-step concentration fraction: 0.1. Logarithms retain the scale of extremely dilute results.