HOW TO USE CALCULATOR

3.1. Define the desired solution

Desired solution

In the "Desired solution" field put in the formula of the chemical you are currently making. For example, if you are making a solution of copper(II) sulfate (or a solution of Cu2+ ion) type CuSO4 to the "Desired solution" field. Hydrates are not to be added to this field but rather the composition of crystal water in a molecule should be added in the Source area at the place where you can define the salt (or solution) from which you are preparing the wanted solution. However, if you want to, you can add hydrates to the "Desired solution" field by adding a plus sign between the formula of the compound and the molecules of water (for example CuSO4+5H2O).

The element symbols can be written in lowercase letters with the number of atoms after symbol, and the program will translate them. If the elements in a chemical formula are properly capitalized, the smart case converter leaves them as you have typed. The most common molecular fragments can be entered through the Insert menu. When you finish entering your formula, press ENTER.

If for any reason SolCalc didn't manage to determine the molecular mass of your compound an Unknown Empirical Formula window will appear asking you to manually insert the molecular mass. A compound molecular mass is necessary when calculating amount of substance and has to be greater than 0.

Another way of adding compounds is to find the wanted chemical in the database and then double clicking on it (or clicking on the Insert button). By clicking on the name of a column you can sort chemicals by their names or formulas. If a hydrate is the usual form of the chemical it will be automatically added to the Source field.

By choosing a chemical the database window automatically closed. You can bring it back up by clicking on the "Show Database" button (F9). Basic data about the chemical along with NFPA 704 codes are found at the bottom of the window. NFPA 704 is a standard created by the National Fire Protection Association for identifying danger from materials during accident interventions.

If you click enter or tab, and the Desired Solution field is empty, the Abbreviations of Chemical Compounds window will open. In it you can define the abbreviation of the chemical you are making (for example BSA, EDTA, EtOH, or Cu2+). Since SolCalc can't calculate molecular mass for those "Desired Solutions" you will need to input the molecular mass manually in to the corresponding field. You can get to this window by selecting the Abbreviations option in the Insert menu.

Final volume

In the "Final volume" field add the volume of the solution you are currently preparing and choose a unit of measurement for the volume (the chosen unit does not affect the end result - it doesn't matter if you write 0.5 L or 500 mL).

Desired concentration

In the "Desired concentration" field type the concentration of the solution you are making and choose a unit in which the concentration is expressed. If you expressed the components of the solution in mass fraction (%, ‰ - per mille, or ppm - parts per million) it will become an active field and you will be able to add in the density of the solution. If there is a note in the chemical database about the existence of an equation for calculating density (Density equation: YES) the program itself will input the density wherever appropriate for the desired solution. In case you manually change the density (blue numbers) the changed density will persist until the concentration of the solution changes.

Entering chemical formulae and numbers

Enter a number by pressing the appropriate digit keys and, if necessary, the decimal point key (dot or comma). It is irrelevant because Solution Calculator will automatic change comma to dot.

There are a few rules for typing chemical formulae and numbers into the Solution Calculator:

• Spaces are irrelevant, for example h 2 so4 is equal h2so4; 2 51 is equal 251
• Never input numbers which have comma or dot as digit grouping (4,321.50)
• All types of parentheses are correct, for example K3[Fe(CN)6]
• For indicating hydration you must use a + sign, for example CuSO4+5H2O
• Use the standard calculator notation for scientific notation, for example 1e-5 is 0.00001; 1E+3 or 1e3 is 1000

SolCalc automatically calculates the necessary amount of chemicals as soon as some information changes.