How to Calculate Volume Percentages

Volume percentages tell you how much of a particular solution is the material in question. As an example, rubbing alcohol is frequently offered as 70 percent. What this means is that in a 100 ml solution of isopropyl alcohol, only 70 ml is actually alcohol, and the rest is water used to dilute it. One hundred percent would be pure alcohol. To calculate the volume percentage, you simply divide the amount of the material, or solute, by the total volume of the solution and multiply by 100 to convert to a percentage.

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the volume or mass of the solute. Liquids are typically measured in milliliters of volume and solids in grams of mass. Either one may be used in volume percentages in the exact same way.

    • 2

      Determine the total volume of the solution in milliliters.

    • 3

      Divide the volume or mass of the solute by the total volume of the solution and multiply by 100. As an example, say you determined you had 182 ml of isopropyl alcohol in a solution that totaled 200 ml. You would divide 182 by 200, which yields 0.91. You then multiply this by number by 100 to convert to a percentage, giving you 91 percent, which is the higher concentration of rubbing alcohol available to consumers.

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