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Biochemical Calculations Guide

This document defines key terms used in biochemical calculations, including: 1) Units for concentration and converting between units like milli, micro, and molarity 2) Using exponents to multiply or divide quantities 3) Converting between consecutive units by factors of 103 or 10-3 4) Calculating molecular mass, moles, molar mass, and concentration 5) Using the equation of C1V1=C2V2 to calculate unknown volumes or concentrations when diluting solutions.

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488 views3 pages

Biochemical Calculations Guide

This document defines key terms used in biochemical calculations, including: 1) Units for concentration and converting between units like milli, micro, and molarity 2) Using exponents to multiply or divide quantities 3) Converting between consecutive units by factors of 103 or 10-3 4) Calculating molecular mass, moles, molar mass, and concentration 5) Using the equation of C1V1=C2V2 to calculate unknown volumes or concentrations when diluting solutions.

Uploaded by

asyaroes
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BIO1023 – BIOCHEMICAL CALCULATIONS

SUMMARY OF TERMS

1. Interconverting between units:

Unit  m (milli)  μ (micro)  n (nano)  …


Unit  k (kilo)  M (mega)  G (giga)  T (tera)  …

2. Powers with:

a positive sign: you multiply


10n = (10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x …)n, where n = 1,2,3,4,…
e.g. 103 = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000
a negative sign: you divide
10-n = 1/(10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x …)n, where n = 1,2,3,4,…
e.g. 10-3 = 1/(10x10x10) = 1/1,000 = 0.001

3. Interconverting between consecutive units

From consecutive large to small unit: factor 103 (e.g. 1 mL = 103 μL)
From consecutive small to large unit: factor 10-3 (e.g. 1 μL = 10-3 mL)

4. Relative molecular mass (Mr, RMM) of a molecule:

Mr = sum (Ar of all constituent atoms)

5. Mole (mol) = the amount of a molecule or substance equal to its Mr, expressed in
grams.

mole (mol) = Mr in grams


6. Molar mass

molar mass = the mass of 1 mol of a molecule or substance.


Units: g/mol

7. Calculating the number of moles of a sample: To find out how many moles of a
molecule/substance are there in a given mass of that substance:

number of moles = mass (g) / molar mass (g/mol) = mass (g) / Mr (g/mol)

8. Concentration of a substance in a solution:


Concentration = amount of substance in the solution / volume of solution

Concentration (C) = mass (g, mol, etc) / volume (L, mL, etc)

9. Molarity (M). A measure of concentration.

Molarity (M) = number of moles of a substance or molecule in 1 L of solution.

e.g. 1 M glucose solution = 1 mol glucose in 1 L


4 M NaCl solution = 4 moles NaCl in 1 L

Since mole = Mr in grams:

Molarity = Mr / 1 L
10. Preparing solutions of known molarity:
To calculate the mass (amount) of a substance required to prepare a solution of given
molarity:

Mass (g) = (Mr of substance) x (molarity (M) required) x (volume of solution)

11. Dilution factor:

Dilution factor = final volume / initial volume

e.g. dilution factor = 4 means that the initial solution is diluted 4 times, i.e. this is a 1 in
4 dilution.

12. Final concentration of a substance or molecule after it has been diluted to make
a new solution:

final concentration = initial concentration / (dilution factor)

13. The C1 x V1 = C2 x V2 formula


When diluting an initial, stock solution to prepare a new solution, we often use the
formula:

C1 x V1 = C2 x V2
where: C1: the concentration (e.g. molarity) of the initial solution
V1: the volume of the initial solution to be diluted
C2: the concentration (e.g. molarity) of the final solution
V2: the volume of the final solution

Provided that any three out of the four factors (C1, V1, C2, V2) are known, you can re-
arrange the formula to calculate the value of the fourth, unknown factor.

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