Properties of solutions

Principal reference:
Chapter 13, Chemistry, The Central Science, 14th edition

Brown et al. (2018)

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 The solution process
• A solution is formed when one substance (solute)
disperses uniformly throughout another (solvent).
• Mixing occurs spontaneously unless the molecules
are restrained either by:
– Strong intermolecular forces or
– Physical barriers

• Gases A & B mix spontaneously because:

– Not restrained by the panel.
– Intermolecular forces are too weak.

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 The solution process
• Intermolecular forces become important when solvent
or solute is solid or liquid.
• Intermolecular interactions involved:
• Solute-solute interactions between solute particles.
• Solvent-solvent interactions between solvent particles.
• Solvent-solute interactions between the solvent and the
solute particles occur as the particles mix.

• Solutions form when magnitudes of the solvent-solute

interactions are either equal to or greater than the
solute-solute and the solvent-solvent interactions.

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 Expressing solution concentration
1. Mass percentage (%):

mass of A in solution
Mass % of A = total mass of solution  100

Example 1:
A solution is made by dissolving 13.5 g of glucose
(C6H12O6) in 0.1 kg of water. What is the mass
percentage of solute in this solution?

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 Expressing solution concentration

2. Molarity (M) moles of solute

= Liters of solution
Note: Molarity depends on the volume of solution.

Example 2:
0.5 mol of Na2CO3 is dissolved in enough water to
form 0.25 L of solution. What is the molarity of
Na2CO3 in the solution?
0.5 mol Na 2CO3
Molarity   2 mol/L  2 M
0.25 L of solution

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 Expressing solution concentration

moles of solute
3. Molality (m) = kg of solvent

Note: Molality depends on the mass of solvent.

Example 3:
A solution is made by dissolving 4.35 g of glucose
(C6H12O6) in 25 mL of water at 25°C. Calculate
the molality of glucose in the solution. Water has a
density of 1 g/mL.

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 Expressing solution concentration

Example 4: Converting between concentrations

An aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid contains
36% HCl by mass. Calculate the molality of HCl in
the solution.

Example 5: Converting between concentrations

A solution with a density of 0.876 g/mL contains 5
g of toluene (C7H8) and 225 g of benzene.
Calculate the molarity of the solution.

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 Expressing solution concentration
4. Mole fraction (X):
moles of component A
XA = total moles in solution

• E.g. if a solution contains 1 mol of HCl and 8 mol of

water, the mole fraction of HCl is:
1 mol HCl
XHCl   0.111
1 mol HCl  8 mol water

• And mole % of HCl = 0.111 x 100% = 11.1%

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 Expressing solution concentration

• Parts per Million (ppm):

mass of A in solution
ppm = total mass of solution  106

• Parts per Billion (ppb):

mass of A in solution
ppb = total mass of solution  109

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 Colligative properties

• Physical properties of solutions that depend on

the concentration of the solute particles.
• Do not depend on the kind or identity of the
solute particles.

• Colligative properties include:

• Vapor pressure lowering
• Boiling point elevation
• Freezing point depression
• Osmotic pressure

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 Vapor-pressure
• The vapor pressure of a liquid is the pressure
exerted by its vapor when the liquid and the vapor
are in dynamic equilibrium.

• Dynamic equilibrium is the condition in which two

opposing processes occur simultaneously at equal
rates.
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 Vapor-pressure
• The variation in vapor pressure with temperature
for common pure substances that differ greatly in
volatility.

• The more volatile the liquid is, the higher the

vapor pressure at a given temperature.
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 Vapor-pressure lowering

• The presence of nonvolatile solute particles in

a liquid solvent results in a reduction of the
vapor pressure above the liquid.

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 Vapor-pressure lowering
• The vapor pressure of a volatile solvent above a
solution containing a nonvolatile solute is proportional
to the concentration of the solvent in the solution.
• This relationship is defined by Raoult’s law:

Psolution  X solvent Psolvent

0

• Psolution = vapor pressure of the solution.

• Xsolvent = mole fraction of the solvent.

• P0solvent= vapor pressure of the pure solvent.

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 Vapor-pressure lowering

• Alternate form of Raoult’s law is given by:

P  Psolvent
0
- Psolution  X solute Psolvent
0

Example 6:
Glycerin (C3H8O3) is a nonvolatile nonelectrolyte with a
density of 1.26 g/mL at 25°C. Calculate the vapor
pressure at 25°C of a solution made by adding 50.0 mL of
glycerin to 500.0 mL of water.

The vapor pressure of pure water at 25°C is 3.17 kPa and

its density is 1 g/mL.
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 Boiling point elevation
• Solutions have a higher boiling point than pure
solvents.

= 100°C (water)

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 Boiling point elevation
• The change in boiling point for a solution compared
to the pure solvent is:
ΔTb  Tb solution  - Tb solvent   iK bm

• Tb(solution) is the boiling point of the solution.

• Tb(solvent) is the boiling point of the solvent.
• m is the molality of the solute.
• Kb is the molal boiling point elevation constant for the
solvent.

• i is the van’t Hoff factor

• For a nonelectrolyte:
i=1
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 Freezing point depression
• Solutions have a lower freezing point than pure
solvents.

= 0°C (water)

• The change in freezing point of the solution is directly

proportional to solute molality:
ΔTf  Tf solvent  - Tf solution   iK f m
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 Freezing point depression
• Tf(solution) is the freezing point of the solution.
• Tf(solvent) is the freezing point of the solvent.
• Kf is the molal freezing point depression constant for the
solvent.

Example 7:
Automotive antifreeze contains ethylene glycol (EG),
C2H6O2, a nonvolatile nonelectrolyte in water. Calculate the
boiling point and freezing point of a 25% by mass solution
of EG in water.
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 Osmosis
• Semipermeable membranes allow some particles
to pass through while blocking others.

• In osmosis, the net movement of solvent is always

toward the solution with the higher solute
concentration (lower solvent concentration).
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 Osmosis
• The pressure which stops the osmosis is the
osmotic pressure (π):
n
  i RT  iMRT
V
• V is the volume of the solution.
• n is the number of moles of solute.
• R is the ideal gas constant (0.082057 L.atm.mol-1K-1)
• T is the absolute temperature.
• M is the molarity of the solution.

• Because π of any solution depends on the solution

concentration, π is a colligative property.

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 Osmosis
• Solutions of equal π (have same concentrations)
are said to be isotonic with respect to each other.
• The solution of lower π (has lower solute
concentration) is hypotonic with respect to the
more concentrated solution.
• The more concentrated solution is hypertonic with
respect to the dilute solution.
Example 8:
The average osmotic pressure of blood is 780 kPa at 25°C.
What molarity of glucose (C6H12O6) will be isotonic with
blood?

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 Molar mass from colligative properties

Example 9:
A solution of an unknown nonvolatile nonelectrolyte was
prepared by dissolving 0.25 g of the substance in 40 g of CCl4.
The boiling point of the resultant solution was 0.357°C higher
than that of pure solvent. Calculate the molar mass of the solute.

Example 10:
The osmotic pressure of an aqueous solution of a certain
protein was measured to determine the protein’s molar mass.
The solution contained 3.5 mg of protein dissolved in sufficient
water to form 5 ml solution. The osmotic pressure of the
solution at 25°C was found to be 205 Pa. Treating the protein
as a nonelectrolyte, calculate its molar mass.
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