Serial dilutions are carried out in various applications, whether in scientific experiments or in everyday situations. An example of a simple serial dilution is when mixing coffee; a certain amount of concentrated coffee is mixed with water to achieve the desired strength. In chemistry, acids or bases are diluted to reach specific concentration needed for experiments. Another common example of serial dilution is seen in microbiology to determine bacterial counts in a sample. Through a process of diluting the sample and culturing it on plates, the number of bacteria present can be estimated.