Summary
Highlights
The first method to calculate concentration uses moles (amount of a chemical substance) divided by volume. It's crucial to remember that 1000 cubic cm equals 1 cubic decimeter or 1 liter. For example, 500 cubic cm is 0.5 cubic decimeters.
Alternatively, concentration can be calculated by dividing the mass of a substance by its volume. The unit for this concentration is grams per cubic decimeter. For example, to make a 10 g/dm³ salt solution with a volume of 250 cubic cm (0.25 dm³), you would need 2.5 grams of salt.
In summary, there are two main ways to calculate concentration: using moles or mass of the solute, both divided by the volume. Formula triangles are a useful tool to calculate any of the quantities (moles/mass, concentration, or volume) by covering the desired term and performing the indicated operation.
A solution's concentration measures the number of solute particles (dissolvable solid) in a solvent (liquid). A concentrated solution has more particles than a dilute one, similar to adding more sugar to sweeten a drink.
The formula triangle helps find any quantity: covering moles means multiplying concentration by volume, and covering concentration means dividing moles by volume. For example, 2 moles in 2 liters of water results in a concentration of 1 mole per cubic decimeter.