At-Home Colligative Properties:

Chemistry
Experiment Freezing Point Determination
Objectives

Colligative properties of solutions depend on the quantity of solute dissolved in the solvent rather
than the identity of the solute. The phenomenon of freezing point lowering will be examined
quantitatively as an example of a colligative property in this at-home experiment.

Introduction

When a solute is dissolved in a solvent, the properties of the solvent are changed by the presence
of the solute. The magnitude of the change generally is proportional to the amount of solute
added. Some properties of the solvent are changed only by the number of solute particles present,
without regard to the particular chemical nature of the solute. Such properties are called colligative
properties of the solution. Colligative properties include the changes in vapour pressure, boiling
point, freezing point and the phenomenon of osmotic pressure.

If a non-volatile solute is added to a volatile solvent (such as water), the amount of solvent
molecules that can escape from the surface of the liquid at a given temperature is lowered
compared to the situation where only pure solvent is present. The vapour pressure above such a
solution will thus be lower than the vapour pressure above a sample of the pure solvent under the
same conditions. Molecules of the non-volatile solute physically block the surface of the solvent,
thereby preventing as many molecules from evaporating. This results in an increase in the boiling
temperature of the solution as well as a decrease in the freezing point.

In this at-home experiment, the freezing points will be measured for:

1. water
2. a solution of sucrose and water at 3 different concentrations.
The freezing point of the sucrose solutions will be used to determine its molar mass.

The decrease in the freezing point, T, when a non-volatile, nonionizing solute is dissolved in a
solvent is proportional to the molal concentration, m, of the solution,

∆𝑇 = 𝐾𝑓 ∙ 𝑚 (1)

Here,
∆𝑇 = 𝑇° − 𝑇 (2)

T° is the freezing temperature of pure water, and T is the freezing temperature of the sucrose-
water solution. The freezing point depression constant, Kf, is a constant for a given solvent and
establishes the number of degrees that the freezing point will be lowered when one mole of solute
is dissolved in one kilogram of solvent. The molal concentration is defined as

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 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 (3)
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑚 =
𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 (4)

𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠, 𝑀𝑀 =
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒

In Parts A and B, the solutions to be used in the experiment as well as the ice/salt bath are
prepared. In Part C, the freezing points of pure water and of the sucrose-water solutions are
measured respectively; the decrease in the freezing temperature, T, between each of the two
solutions can then be obtained. From the T of the solutions used, and the known Kf for water of
1.86°Ckgmol-1, the molality of the solution can be calculated using 1. The known masses of the
solute and solvent, as well as the measured molality, will then be used to obtain the molar mass
of sucrose using 3 and 4.

After the experiment, you are encouraged to employ the same principles of freezing point
depression to make your own ice cream at home.

Materials

 Thermometer  12 Tablespoons of white granulated

 25 mL or 50 mL syringe
 3 containers to store dissolved
sucrose solutions (A, B and C). Each
container should hold a minimum of
100 mL
 Large container that can hold
approximately 400-600 mL to be
used for the ice/salt bath
 Tablespoon / measuring spoon
sugar (sucrose)
 50 mL polypropylene tube
 Water
 Ice (crushed or cubed)
 Salt (table salt, or kosher salt /
coarse salt / de-icing salt), enough to
achieve a 2-3 cm layer in chosen
container

Procedure

Part A - Preparation of the Sucrose Solutions

1. To one of the containers, add 2 tablespoons of sucrose and 50 mL of water using the
syringe. Stir the solution, cover and leave overnight (or a minimum of 8 hours) to
completely dissolve the sucrose. Label the container as Solution A.

2. To a second container, add 4 tablespoons of sucrose and 50 mL of water using the

syringe. Stir the solution, cover and leave overnight (or a minimum of 8 hours) to
completely dissolve the sucrose. Label the container as Solution B.

3. To a third container, add 6 tablespoons of sucrose and 50 mL of water using the syringe.
Stir the solution, cover and leave overnight (or a minimum of 8 hours) to completely
dissolve the sucrose. Label the container as Solution C.

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 Figure 1: Dissolved Sucrose Solutions A, B and C

Part B - Preparation of the Ice/Salt Bath

1. Half fill the large container with crushed ice, pour a 15 mm to a 25 mm layer of salt on top
of the ice, and using a spoon, stir until the ice and salt are thoroughly mixed.

2. Immerse the thermometer in the ice/salt bath, allow a couple minutes for it to stabilize,
and record the temperature. (Table 2)

a) b)

Figure 2: a) Ice/Salt Bath, b) Temperature of Ice/Salt Bath

3. If at any point during the experiment more ice/salt is required so that it is above the liquid
line in your polypropylene sample tube, add it carefully so that it does not mix with the
sample being tested.

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Part C - Determination of the Freezing Point of Water and Sucrose Solutions (A, B and C)

1. Half fill a polypropylene tube with 25 mL of water and carefully press it down into the
ice/salt bath until the water level is completely below the surface of the ice/salt bath. Start
a stopwatch or timer after it is immersed. (Figure 3 b)

a) b) c)

Figure 3: a) Polypropylene tube, b) measuring solution's freezing point, c) frozen sucrose solution

2. Gently stir the water with the thermometer continuously and record the temperature to one
value after the decimal every 30 seconds until it stabilizes for a minimum of 5 constant
readings. At this point, ice crystals will have begun to form on the sides of the
polypropylene tube. It may be necessary to remove the tube from the ice/salt bath
periodically to check the status. Ice crystals tend to form first near the bottom of the test
tube. (Figure 3 c)

3. Once the data has been recorded, stop the timer, clean the tube with warm water to
dissolve the frozen water and remove the contents inside the tube. Dry the tube before
reusing in the next step.

4. Repeat the procedure (Part C steps 1-3) with each of the 3 sucrose solutions (A, B and
C) to be tested in place of the water and record the results for each run.

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Calculations and Data Analysis

1. Plot the collected values of Temperature (°C) vs Time (seconds) in 4 separate graphs in
Excel (one for each solution to be measured). Label the title of the graphs and axes
appropriately.

2. Look for the most linear portion of the graph after the dip and before the values begin to
decrease again. Calculate the average temperature of those values. The resulting value
is the freezing point (f.p.) of the sample. See circled values to represent the linear portion
of the curve (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Sample data for the freezing point of water

3. Repeat the determination of the freezing point for solutions A, B, and C. Record the values
of the freezing points (Table 2).

4. Calculate the T using the freezing points for each sucrose solution and water (2).

5. Calculate the molality of the sucrose solutions using the calculated T and the Kf of water
1.86°Ckgmol-1 (1).

6. Using the calculated molality, determine the number of moles of sucrose used (3). Convert
the volume of water used to prepare the solutions into mass of water used. Assume the
density of water is 1.00 g/mL.

7. Based on your experimental data, calculate the molar mass of sucrose (Equation 4). You
will need to convert the volume of sucrose used to prepare the solutions into mass of
sucrose used. The mass of 1 tablespoon of sucrose (sugar) is 12.782g.
https://www.convertunits.com/from/gram+[sugar]/to/tablespoon

8. Calculate the percent error using the theoretical molar mass of sucrose.

9. Calculate the average molar mass and percent error and complete the data analysis table
(Table 2)

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Name:______________________________________ Section _________________

Date _________________

COLLIGATIVE PROPERTIES
Data

Water Solution A Solution B Solution C soln C cont’d

Time Temp Time Temp Time Temp Time Temp Time Temp
(min) sec °C (min) sec °C (min) sec °C (min) sec °C sec °C

30 30 30 30 930
960
1 60 1 60 1 60 1 60
90 90 90 90 990
1020
2 120 2 120 2 120 2 120
150 150 150 150 1050
1080
3 180 3 180 3 180 3 180
210 210 210 210 1110
1140
4 240 4 240 4 240 4 240
270 270 270 270 1170

5 300 5 300 5 300 5 300 1200

1230
330 330 330 330
6 360 6 360 6 360 6 360 1260
1290
390 390 390 390
7 420 7 420 7 420 7 420 1320
1350
450 450 450 450
8 480 8 480 8 480 8 480 1380
1410
510 510 510 510
9 540 9 540 9 540 9 540 1440
1470
570 570 570 570
10 600 10 600 10 600 10 600 1500
1530
630 630 630 630
11 660 11 660 11 660 11 660 1560

690 690 690 690 1590

1620
12 720 12 720 12 720 12 720
750 750 750 750 1650
1680
13 780 13 780 13 780 13 780
810 810 810 810 1710

14 840 14 840 14 840 14 840 1740

870 870 870 870 1770

15 900 15 900 15 900 15 900 1800

Table 1: Data Collection Table

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Name:______________________________________ Section _________________

Date _________________

COLLIGATIVE PROPERTIES
Data

Temperature of ice/salt bath: ___________

Freezing point of water: ___________

Data Table

Solution f.p. T m sucrose kg water n sucrose g sucrose MM sucrose % error

Average

Table 2: Data Analysis Table

Sample Calculations
(show a set of sample calculations for one of the solutions):

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Troubleshooting Suggestions

 Container for ice/salt bath could be a Pyrex measuring cup or a food thermos, or any
container large enough to hold the ice/salt bath and polypropylene tube. It should be big
enough so that when the tube is immersed into the ice/salt bath, the liquid level inside the
tube is below the level of the ice/salt mixture.

 If sugar solutions do not dissolve immediately, leave them out to dissolve over several
hours (ideally prepare and let dissolve overnight). Do not heat them as you will lose some
of the water by evaporation.

 If the ice/salt bath level is lower than the liquid in the polypropylene tube, add more ice/salt
to the bath.

 Make sure you clean the polypropylene tube with warm water to dissolve and melt the
frozen sucrose solution before moving on to the next sample.

 The higher the concentration of the sucrose, the longer it takes to freeze. It may take up
to 30 min to complete the measurements of the most concentrated solutions. Alternatively,
you may place the higher concentration solutions in the fridge to cool down before
performing the experiment to reduce the run time.

References

Department of Chemistry. (2019, Fall). ‘Colligative Properties’, Chemistry of Solutions 202-

NYB-05 Laboratory Experiments. Montreal, QC: Dawson College.

Thompson, R. B. (2012). “Determine Molar Mass by Freezing Point Depression”, Illustrated

guide to home chemistry experiments: all lab, no lecture. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.".

Rogers, C., (2004, Winter). CHEM 206 Tutorial Sample Problems, Montreal, QC: Concordia
University

Acknowledgements

Dawson College CLAW (Chemistry Lab Alternative Workforce)

Elie Saadé, TAV College; for access to laboratory equipment and chemicals, as well as useful
suggestions and insight into experimental procedures.

Last updated June 22, 2020

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Prepare your own Homemade Ice Cream (optional)

Make your own ice cream at home using the same principle of freezing point depression
examined in this experiment, “Ice Cream in a Bag” (Delish.com)

Reference: Abraham, Lena. “You Can Make Homemade Ice Cream In A Bag, And We've Lost
All Chill.” Delish, Delish, 21 May 2019, www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-
ideas/recipes/a54721/ice-cream-in-a-bag-recipe/.