Volume Percent
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Volume Percent

Volume percent is usually used when the solution is made by mixing two liquids.

For example, rubbing alcohol is generally 70% by volume isopropyl alcohol. That means that 100 ml of solution contains 70 ml of isopropyl alcohol. That also means that a liter (or 1000 ml) of this solution has 700 ml of isopropyl alcohol plus enough water to bring it up a total volume of 1 liter, or 1000 ml. Label on Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol
Volume percent =

volume of solute
volume of solution

 x 100%

One potentially confusing thing about volume percent stems from the fact that the volumes of liquids are not always additive. Sometimes the volumes change when two liquids are mixed together. For example, mixing 70 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 30 ml of water will not give you exactly 100 ml of solution.


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