# Question 4cfc3

Feb 13, 2015

The dilution factor wil be 65, or 1:65.

The dilution factor is expressed as the ratio between the final and the intial volumes of the solution.

"DF" = V_("final")/V_("initial")

The initial volume will be the $\text{0.1 mL}$ supernatant sample you're using for the protein estimation. Now, the final volume will be equal to the sum of all the volumes you add to the test tube

${V}_{\text{final") = V_("supernatant") + V_("NaOH") + V_("reagent C") + V_("Folin}}$

V_("final") = "0.1 mL" + "0.9 mL" + "5 mL" + "0.5 mL" = "6.5 mL"#

This means that your dilution factor will be

$\text{DF" = V_("final")/V_("initial") = "6.5 mL"/"0.1 mL} = 65$, or $\text{1:65}$.

You've essentially added $\text{6.4 mL}$ to your original $\text{1-mL}$ sample to make the volume 65 times larger $\to$ you've performed a $\text{1:65}$ dilution.

More on calculating dilution factors here:

http://socratic.org/questions/how-do-you-calculate-dilution-factor?source=search

http://socratic.org/questions/how-do-you-do-serial-dilution-calculations?source=search