A milliequivalent (mEq) of an ion is, in fact, one thousandth of the gram equivalent of the ion, which is in turn the

ionic weight expressed in grams divided by the valency of the ion. Alternatively, 1mEq= ionic weight in mg/ valency Another way to look at it is to say that one equivalent is the amount of ion required to cancel out the electrical charge of an oppositly charged monovalent ion. You can say that the valence

Equivalents & milliequivalents

Equivalents and milliequivalents

Equivalent An equivalent is an amount of material that will release or react
with an Avogadro's number of electrical charges on particles like OH , H electrons.
11+

or

This means that an equivalent of HCl will react with a mol of hydroxide ion charge. For bases this means that an equivalent of KOH will react with a mol of hydrogen ion charge. In an oxidation reaction a metal like zinc, Zn, can be oxidized. A mol of zinc will 2+ 0 2+ 1oxidize to produce Zn and release two mols of electrons. Zn ---> Zn + 2e In reduction a nonmetal like sulfur can accept two electrons to form sulfide ions, 20 S . One mol of sulfur will equal two equivalents in this reduction half reaction. S 12+ 2e ---> S Usually you can count the number of acidic hydrogens in an acid and decide how many equivalents there are in a mol. For example HF (hydrofluoric acid) will have 1 equivalent per mol while H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) will have 2 equivalents per mol of H2SO4. Bases like Al(OH)3 can be analyzed in a similar way. You can count the number of hydroxide ions in the formula to get the number of equivalents per mol. Aluminum hydroxide, has three hydoxide ions Al(OH) 3 Example 1 1 mol Ca(OH)2 = 2 equivalents Ca(OH)2 There are "TWO" OH released when the hydroxide dissolves. The calcium hydroxide releases Ca
2+ 1-

and two OH ions.

1-

The equivalent weight of calcium hydroxide is 1/2 he mass of a mol of calcium hydroxide. 1 mol Ca(OH)2 = 74 grams Ca(OH)2 ; 1 equivalent Ca(OH)2 = 37 grams

Ca(OH)2 Example 2 1 mol Al(OH)3= 3 equivalents Al(OH)3 There are "THREE" OH released when the hydroxide dissolves. The calcium hydroxide releases one Al
3+ 1-

and three OH ions.

1-

The equivalent weight of aluminum hydroxide is 1/3 the mass of a mol of aluminum hydroxide. 1 mol Al(OH)3 = 78 grams Al(OH)3 ; 1 equivalent Al(OH)3 = 26 grams Al(OH)3 Example 3 1 mol H2SO4 = 2 equivalents H2SO4 There are "TWO" H
1+

released when the acid dissociates

1+

The acid releases two H

ions and one SO4 ion.

2-

The equivalent weight of sulfuric acid is 1/2 the mass of a mol. 1 mol H2SO4 = 98 grams H2SO4 ; 1 equivalent H2SO4 = 49 grams H2SO4 Example 4 1 mol H3PO4 = 3 equivalents H3PO4 There are "THREE" H
1+

released when the acid dissociates

1+

The acid releases three H

and one phosphate PO4 ion.

2-

The equivalent weight of phosphoric acid is 1/3 the mass of a mol. 1 mol H2PO4 = 98 grams H3PO4 ; 1 equivalent H3PO4 = 32 grams H3PO4

Milliequivalents A milliequivalent is 1/1000 of a equivalent. This means an

equivalent is 1000 milliequivalents. In terms of grams the equivalent weight is equal to 1000 milliequivalent weights. THIS UNIT IS USEFUL because it matches the levels of dissolved ions in small volumes of body fluids.

Example 1
1 mol H3PO4 = 3 equivalents H3PO4 The acid releases three H
1+

and one phosphate PO4 ion.

2-

The equivalent weight of phosphoric acid is 1/3 the mass of a mol.

1 mol H2PO4 = 98 grams H3PO4 ; 1 equivalent H3PO4 = 32 grams H3PO4

The relation between equivalents and milliequivalents

1 equivalent H3PO4 = 1000 milliequivalent H3PO4 1 equivalent mol H2PO4 = 32 grams H3PO4 ; 1 milliequivalent mol H2PO4 = 32 milligrams H3PO4 ; HERE THE TWO SIDES OF THE EQUATION HAVE BEEN DIVIDED BY 1000

Online Introductory Chemistry Dr. Walt Volland all rights reserved 1997-2005, revised March 29, 2005 A milliequivalent is defined as 1/1000 of an equivalent of a chemical element, radical or compound. Its abbreviation is "mEq." The equation used to calculate a milliequivalent is atomic weight (g) / (valence x 1000). The unit of measure for mEq is grams (g). Related Searches:

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Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions
Things You'll Need

Chemistry table of atomic weights and valences for the elements Calculator

Suggest Edits 1.

Formula
o

1 Use the formula mEq = AW / (V x 1000) to calculate the milliequivalent. AW = atomic weight (g) and V = valence.

Select the element and identify the atomic weight (AW) and valence (V). For illustration purposes, potassium (K) is AW = 39.0983 g and V = 1.
o

3 Insert the values into the formula mEq = AW / (V x 1000) and calculate. For potassium: mEq = 39.0983 g / (1 x 1000), so mEq = 0.0390983 g.

4 For compounds, calculate the total atomic weight and identify the lowest valence. For example, potassium chloride (KCl): Potassium (K) AW = 39.0983 g V=1 Chloride (Cl) AW = 35.4532 g V=5 The lowest valence is 1 (potassium).

5 For compounds, insert the values into the formula mEq = Total AW / (V x 1000) and calculate. For potassium chloride: mEq = (KAW + ClAW) / (V x 1000) mEq = (39.0983 g + 35.4532 g) / (1 x 1000) mEq = 74.5515 g / 1000 mEq = 0.0745515 g

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Tips & Warnings

Milliequivalents can be expressed in milligram units (mg). To convert grams to milligrams, multiply the value by 1,000. Milliequivalents can be calculated using millimoles (mmol). The equation to calculate mEq from mmol is mEq = mmol x V. In this case, the unit of measurement is millimole (mmol), not grams.

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Comments

Iulia Oct 23, 2011 how much mg/l is 0,4meq/kg

pritiraj.choudhury Aug 09, 2011 3.4 ml of 0.1M NaoH is how much miliequivalent.

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