Chapter 3 Simple Dilutions

What is the addition of one substance to another to reduce the concentration of one of the substances and is also referred to as a weakened solution?

Dilutions

What consists of two components, the specimen that is diluted and the diluent that is used to dilute the specimen?

Simple Dilution

What refers to the substance that is used to dilute the other substance, which can be water, saline, alcohol, or other liquids?

Diluent

What is a generalized way to compare one thing to another and denoted by a “:” and the word “to”?

Ratio

What is denoted by a “/” and the word “in”?

Dilution

What are dilutions performed in serology and blood bank for?

Antibody Titers

What is the reciprocal of the dilution?

Dilution Factor

What is the correct formula for writing dilutions?

Specimen/Total Volume (sample+diluent)

What are dilutions performed in microbiology used for?

Determine minimum inhibitory concentration for antibiotics

What decreases with increasing dilutions?

Substance Concentration

What are some reasons why dilutions are performed in the lab?

Determine an accurate result if a sample exceeds the instrument’s linearity for a test or preparing reagents for stock solutions

When a dilution is performed for samples that have exceeded linearity, what is used to determine the final answer?

Dilution Factor

What is a semi-quantitative method of determining different things such as antibody levels and drug concentrations, where a reciprocal of the last dilution that yields a positive result?

Titers

When a solution that contains a known concentration is diluted, how can the concentration resulting be determined?

Multiply concentration by dilution