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Concentration and Dilution

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Wrap-up

What you learned

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Key takeaway

  1. Concentration compares how much solute is present with how much liquid is available.
  2. Adding solvent can lower concentration without removing any solute.
  3. Adding solute at fixed volume raises concentration for a different reason than dilution lowers it.

Common misconception

Dilution means the solute disappears or leaves the beaker.

A fuller beaker can simply contain more solvent, so the same solute is spread out more.

  1. Concentration from amount and volume

    Use it as a reading rule: the same solute is less concentrated when it is spread through more liquid.

  2. Dilution keeps solute fixed

    During dilution, the solute amount stays the same while the solvent volume increases.

Why it behaves this way

Explanation

Concentration is not just about how full the beaker looks. It tells you how much solute is present for a given amount of liquid. This bench keeps the particle view, amount-volume guide, and concentration readout together so you can connect the number to what the mixture looks like.

Dilution means adding more solvent while keeping the solute amount the same. That spreads the same dissolved particles through more liquid, so concentration falls. Adding solute can also change concentration, but for a different reason: there is more dissolved material, not just more liquid around it.

Key ideas

01Concentration compares solute amount with liquid volume.
02Dilution lowers concentration by increasing solvent volume while keeping the solute amount fixed.
03Adding solute can also change concentration, but that is not the same process as dilution.

Worked examples

Worked examples

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Frozen walkthrough

Step through the frozen example

Frozen walkthrough
Use the live beaker to decide what is changing: solute amount, solvent volume, or both.

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Frozen valuesUsing frozen parameters

For the current mixture, what makes the concentration high or low?

Solute amount

11

Solvent volume

1

1. Read the solute amount

The beaker currently holds 11 units of solute.

2. Read the solvent volume

The same solute is spread through 1 units of solvent.

3. Use both to read the concentration

That gives a concentration of about 11, with roughly 40 visible particles in the beaker.

Beaker concentration

With less liquid in the beaker, the same solute occupies a tighter space and the concentration rises.

Quick test

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