AP CHEMISTRY

CHAPTER 11 NOTES
PROPERTIES OF SOLUTIONS
 Solution terms:
Solution- a homogeneous mixture (gases, liquids, or solids)
Saturated solution- a solution containing the maximum
amount of solute that will dissolve under a given set of
conditions. Saturated solutions are at dynamic equilibrium
with any excess undissolved solute present. Solute particles
dissolve and recrystallize at equal rates.
Unsaturated solution- a solution containing less than the
maximum amount of solute that will dissolve under a given
set of conditions. (more solute can dissolve)
Supersaturated solution- a solution that has been prepared at
an elevated temperature and then slowly cooled. It contains
more than the usual maximum amount of solution dissolved.
A supersaturated solution is very unstable and the addition of
a “seed crystal’; will cause all excess solute to crystallize out
of solution leaving the remaining solvent saturated.
 Units of solution concentration:
Molarity (M) = # of moles of solute per liter of solution

moles of solute
M=
liters of solution
Mole fraction (χ) = ratio of the number of moles of a given
component to the total number of moles of solution.
!!
Mole fraction (!! = )
! !!
Hydrogen sulfide gas has a solubility of 0.385 g/100 mL of
water at 20oC and 1 atm. Calculate the mole fractions of
both the solute and the solvent in a saturated solution of
hydrogen sulfide in water under these conditions.

Assume 100 mL of solution, volume of the H2S(g) is

negligible, density is 1.00g/mL
0.385g H2S × 1 mol H2S = 0.0113 mol H2S
34.08 g H2S
100.g H2O × 1 mol H2O = 5.55 mol H2O
18.02 g H2O
χH2S = 0.0113 = 0.00203
0.0113 + 5.55
χH2O = 5.55 = 0.998
0.0113 + 5.55
Energies involved in
solution formation:
Whether or not a solute dissolves in a solvent depends upon the
strengths of 3 different types of attractions, as well as a change in the
entropy (disorder) of the system.

1. Attraction of solute particles for each other

2. Attraction of solvent particles for each other
3. Attraction of solute particles for solvent particles

These 3 attractions add up to give the overall heat of solution.

 “like dissolves like”
-general observation for solubility, not a reason
Substances with similar types of intermolecular forces dissolve
in each other.

Polar solvents dissolve polar or ionic solutes. Nonpolar solvents

dissolve nonpolar solutes.

Water dissolves many salts because the strong ion-dipole

attractions that water forms with the ions are very similar to the
strong attractions between the ions themselves.
The same salts are insoluble in hexane (C6H14) because the
weak LDF forces their ions could form with this nonpolar
solvent are much weaker than the attraction between ions.
Oil does not dissolve in water because the LDF-dipole forces
are much weaker than the hydrogen bonding of water.

Solubilities of alcohols in water: As the hydrocarbon portion

of the alcohol increases in length, the alcohol becomes less
soluble. (More of the molecule is nonpolar.) The opposite
situation would exist if hexane were the solvent.

Heat of solution (ΔHsoln) = enthalpy change associated with

the formation of a solution

3 steps: ΔHsoln = ΔH1 + ΔH2 + ΔH3

Δ H soln can be positive (endothermic) or negative

(exothermic).
Step 1 = Breaking up solute (endothermic)
“expanding the solute”
High in ionic and polar solutes, low in nonpolar solutes

ΔHsolute = −ΔHlattice energy

Step 2 = Breaking up solvent (endothermic)
“expanding the solvent”

High in polar solvent, low in nonpolar solvent

Step 3 = Interaction of solute and solvent

(exothermic)

(High negative in polar-polar, low negative in rest)

 ΔH2 + ΔH3 =
enthalpy of hydration

Enthalpy of hydration is more negative for small ions and

highly charged ions.

Most heats of solution are positive

(endothermic). The reason that the
solute dissolves is that the solution
process usually increases the entropy
(disorder). This makes the process
thermodynamically favorable. The
solution process involves two factors,
the change in heat and the change in
entropy, and their relative sizes
determine whether a solute dissolves
in a solvent.
 Factors Affecting
Solubility:
Molecular Structure:

Fat soluble vitamins, (A,D,E,K) –nonpolar (can be stored in the

body tissue)
Water soluble vitamins, (B&C) –polar (are not stored, must be
consumed regularly)
Hydrophobic- water fearing (nonpolar)
Hydrophilic – water loving (polar)
Pressure Effects:

The solubility of a gas is higher with increased pressure.

Pressure had very little affect on the solubility of liquids and
solids
Henry’s Law- the amount of a gas dissolved in a solution is
directly proportional to the pressure of the gas above the
solution.
Henry’s Law is obeyed best for dilute solutions of gases that
don’t dissociate or react with the solvent.

Temperature Effects:
The amount of solute that
will dissolve usually increases
with increasing temperature
but may decrease. Solubility
generally increases with
temperature if the solution
process is endothermic
(ΔHsoln > 0 ). Solubility
generally decreases with
temperature if the solution
process is exothermic (ΔHsoln
< 0).
 Potassium hydroxide,
sodium hydroxide and
sodium sulfate are three
compounds that become
less soluble as the
temperature rises. This
can be explained by
LeChatelier’s Principle.

The solubility of a gas

in a liquid always
decreases with increasing
temperature.
Vapor Pressure Lowering-
While the presence of a volatile solute (more volatile than the
solvent) increases the vapor pressure of a solution, the presence
of a nonvolatile solute lowers the vapor pressure of a solvent.
This is because the dissolved nonvolatile solute decreases the
number of solvent molecules per unit volume. (Nonvolatile
solute dilutes the solution). There are fewer solvent molecules
on the surface to escape.
The Presence of a Nonvolatile Solute Inhibits the Escape of Solvent Molecules from the Liquid
 Liquid-Liquid solutions-

Solutions in which both solute and solvent are liquid and the
liquids are volatile do not behave ideally. Both solute and
solvent contribute to the vapor pressure. If the solute is more
volatile than the solvent, the vapor pressure of the solution is
higher than the vapor pressure of the solvent.

Total Vapor Pressure of

a Solution
 Colloids- (also called colloidal dispersions) - a suspension of
tiny particles in some medium. The dispersed colloidal particles
are larger than a simple molecule but small enough to remain
distributed and not settle out. A colloidal particle has a diameter
between 1 and 1000 nm and may contain many atoms, ions, or
molecules. Because of their small particle size, colloids have an
enormous total surface area.

The particles stay suspended because of electrostatic repulsion.

Coagulation occurs by heating (particles collide so hard that they
stick together) or by the addition of an electrolyte (neutralizes ion
layers).

The particles can be separated by filtration.

Foams, aerosols, emulsions, and sols are various types of colloidal

dispersions.
Tyndall effect- the scattering of light by
particles

-used to distinguish between a suspension and a

true solution. A true solution has particles that
are too small to scatter light.
Brownian motion- a characteristic movement in which the
particles change speed and direction erratically (solvent
molecules collide with the colloidal particles).

Like a troop of Brownie scouts

who ate too many Girl Scout
cookies!
 BEER’S LAW

A = εbc or A = abc

Solu&on concentra&on can some&mes be measured by analyzing

the intensity of the color of a solu&on through the use of a
colorimeter or spectrophotometer.
Beer's Law is a way of summarizing and quan&fying the
rela&onship between the absorbance of light of a given
wavelength, the nature of the absorbing chemical, the path
length of the solu&on, and the concentra&on of the solu&on.
It expresses the ideal situa&on in which these factors are truly
propor&onal to the absorbance.
 A = εbc or A = abc

•  The symbol "A" stands for the absorbance, which is measured

with an instrument such as a spectrophotometer or
colorimeter.
•  The symbol "a" or “ε” is a propor&onality factor called the
molar absorp6vity which is how much light will be absorbed
by 1 cm of a 1 M solu&on of this chemical. Its value depends
on what the chemical is and also on what wavelength (or
color) of light is being used.
•  The symbol "b" stands for the path length of the cuveJe in
which the sample is contained measured in cen&meters.
•  The symbol "c" stands for concentra6on measured in
molarity.
A standard curve can be prepared by measuring and graphing the
absorbance of light of a certain wavelength by different
concentrations of the same solution. When an unknown
concentration of that solution is tested, the standard curve can be
used to determine its concentration.
2012