The procedure involves adding a known quantity of a chemical to a flask containing equal volumes of water and an organic solvent, such as octanol. The flask is then sealed and shaken to allow the chemical to equilibrate between the two phases. After reaching equilibrium, the concentrations of the chemical in each phase are measured. The equilibrium concentration is used to calculate the partition coefficient, which is the ratio of the concentration of the compound in the organic phase to that in the aqueous phase.
