A dilution ratio question (What is 1:10) Poll please?

danlightbulb said:
But are we talking precision chemistry here or just instructions on a bottle of some supermarket product?

99% of people will interpret as a standard ratio.
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Yeah I think the normal ratio interpretation is right after all and Mapel Leaf is wrong, see my edit. It doesn't look like Chemists can agree on a standard for dilutions (or perhaps the doc he linked to was an anomaly by someone who doesn't understand what a ratio is) but the few industry websites I've looked at seem to interpret a dilution ratio just as you'd expect a ratio to be interpreted as:

1:10 simply means 1 part and 10 parts as you'd expect.
 
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Brun said:
Wouldn't a 1:1 mix mean equal volumes of each?

How would you describe it if that wasn't the case?
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Indeed, this is the easiest way to think about in a mathematical was 1:1 is just a 50-50 mix as it were..1:2 would be twice as much pf one as the other.
 
Maple Leaf said:
They mean take 1 volume of the solution and increase it by diluting it with water until its new volume is equivalent to 10 volumes. Yes, it's the same as doing a 10 times dilution on it, so that it's now at 10% of the original concentration.

This is very simple to do; for example, you just put 100 ml of the concentrated solution into a measuring flask/jug and add water until you have 1 litre of diluted solution.



No, it is incorrect. The approach I outlined above is standard practice in science labs internationally and so it's industry best practice too.

But you don't have to take my word for it: here is an explanation of dilution conventions.

(Edited to add a reference.)
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There is a difference between the 2 concepts:

dilution factor is what your doc describes, but that would be more commonly shown with a slash, 1/10. Which looks more like a fraction and intuitively is a fraction.1 in 10, i.e. 10%

dilution ratio is the same as a mathematical ratio. so 1:10 would be 1 part with 10 parts, 11 in total.
 
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dowie said:
Yeah I think the normal ratio interpretation is right after all and Mapel Leaf is wrong, see my edit. It doesn't look like Chemists can agree on a standard for dilutions (or perhaps the doc he linked to was an anomaly by someone who doesn't understand what a ratio is) but the few industry websites I've looked at seem to interpret a dilution ratio just as you'd expect a ratio to be interpreted as:

1:10 simply means 1 part and 10 parts as you'd expect.
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see my post above, sometimes chemists talk about a dilution factor but this is a different to a dilution ratio.
 
D.P. said:
There is a difference between the 2 concepts:

dilution factor is what your doc describes, but that would be more commonly shown with a slash, 1/10. Which looks more like a fraction and intuitively is a fraction.1 in 10, i.e. 10%

dilution ratio is the same as a mathematical ratio. so 1:10 would be 1 part with 10 parts, 11 in total.
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This.
We got round confusing people with dilutions by expressing %s eg 2% xyz in Pg would be 0.02xyz and 0.98Pg to make.

When diluting things its normally expressed by how much of each item you add so you can scale it up or down.
 
Participant said:
I guess this is why on compounds like tile adhesive and plaster they say things like mix "20kg with 4L" and make it idiot proof.
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That's just a matter of what each is typically supplied and measured in. It's far from idiot proof if you only have 12kg of plaster and need to know how much water to use.
 
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haaammit said:
Well hi. I was mixing up some cleaning solution today and the instructions stated:

Dilute 1:10 in water

And it got me thinking. Do they mean mix 1 part of solution with 10 parts water (so 11 parts in total, so approx 9% strength) or do they mean mix 1 part solution to 9 parts water (so 10 parts in total, at 10% strength)

Seems it can be either! Yes I'm bored lol. Any chance of a poll? A:11 parts total @9% B:10 parts total @10% C:Get a life/Pancake

Ta
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This is like a 10 year old school maths question

1:10 means 1 part to 10 parts. So if its a solution mixed with water, 1 part solution 10 parts water, for example 100ml solution + 1000ml water

It can be confusing for some reason, but the answer is quite simple once you get it the first time and if you've done a bit of baking or even tried to top up or change your car's coolant fluid then you'd have run into this question many times before

I can see other people have come up with other interpretations that may be valid in certain commercial industries, but the way I've explained 1:10 is going to be what's intended for any consumer facing application because it has to be as simple as possible
 
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Maple Leaf said:
They mean take 1 volume of the solution and increase it by diluting it with water until its new volume is equivalent to 10 volumes. Yes, it's the same as doing a 10 times dilution on it, so that it's now at 10% of the original concentration.

This is very simple to do; for example, you just put 100 ml of the concentrated solution into a measuring flask/jug and add water until you have 1 litre of diluted solution.



No, it is incorrect. The approach I outlined above is standard practice in science labs internationally and so it's industry best practice too.

But you don't have to take my word for it: here is an explanation of dilution conventions.

(Edited to add a reference.)
Click to expand...

i'm chemist and its vague and bady explained.
Different people write it differently so i would seek more clarification as it could mean either.
 
Just LOL if you can't tell the difference between a 1:10 dilution, concentration, or goddam gradient.

(i am not a chemist but am a grade A asshat so take that into account) if you want to debate me outside))*

* e: noobs
 
The op refers to one they saw written as "Dilute 1:10 in water". I bet if it was written as 1:9 or 1:7 people wouldn't get as confused. I think with it being to the 10, that can automatically make people try to over complicate it and think of percentages/wholes.

As people have said, if 1:10 meant 1 to the 9, that would cause issues when mixing things 1:2, because it would massively affect the mix accuracy!
 
jaybee said:
The op refers to one they saw written as "Dilute 1:10 in water". I bet if it was written as 1:9 or 1:7 people wouldn't get as confused. I think with it being to the 10, that can automatically make people try to over complicate it and think of percentages/wholes.

As people have said, if 1:10 meant 1 to the 9, that would cause issues when mixing things 1:2, because it would massively affect the mix accuracy!
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maybe i'm missing the point here, but why? we're talking about weights and measures which both have increments to infinitum and not "whole" things
 
B@Th*nG said:
maybe i'm missing the point here, but why? we're talking about weights and measures which both have increments to infinitum and not "whole" things
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I'm not saying people that think this way are rational though. :)
Just trying to think of a reason they might do it. Dunno
 
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