MathBench > Microbiology

Viable Plate Count, or...

How to count to a million

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Table of
The dilution factor
Contents When you're thinking about dilution, it helps to simplify your actions into dilution factors.
Section 1. How to Do a Viable When we said the diluted coffee was
Plate Count "1/10th as strong as the original"
1: Why we need to dilute
that was a dilution factor. We could also have said
2: Setting the stage: Diluting
Cold Press Coffee "the dilution factor was 1/10", or
3: The dilution factor
"the dilution factor was 0.1".
4: Overall dilution
Here are a few more for you to try:
5: Design a dilution!
6: How to scale back up 1. 1 mL coffee + 4 mL water = 1 in 5, or 1/5, or 0.2 dilution factor
7: Count a plate! 2. 1 mL coffee + 9mL water = 1 in 10, or 1/10, or 0.1 dilution factor
8: Why plate more than one
dilution? 3. 1 mL + 99mL water = Click to see answer
9: Picking the plate count
Section 2. Practice Problems As you've probably guessed, this works exactly the same whether you're talking about
10: Putting it all together caffeine or meningicocci. Here's what a dilution factor of 0.01 looks like on the lab bench:
11: More dilution problems
12: Quickies
13: Is he dead yet?
14: Review

Notice that it really doesn't matter how much of the original stock you started with, as long
as you had enough to put 1 mL into the new container. What matters is how much you
transfer and how much water you add.
It's possible to write an algebraic expression for the dilution factor, but it's almost more
trouble than it's worth, because it sounds so complex. But for what it's worth, the dilution
factor for 1 mL stock + 99 mL water is:
amount transferred / total amount =
amount transferred / (amount transferred + amount water added) =
1 / (1+99) = 1/100 = 0.01.
Below is an applet to practice finding dilution factors, and also to determine how much
water to add to achieve a given dilution. You should practice this until it is second nature!!

about
What is the dilution factor?
1 mL stock + 4 mL water
0.2 ! ? New
Correct!

Can you do it in your sleep? OK, then go on to the next page...

photo credits: sleeping student |

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