What are the Colligative Properties

of solutions?
 Colligative Properties
Vapor pressure of a liquid is the pressure of the gas above
the liquid when the gas and the liquid are in dynamic
equilibrium (that is, when the rate of vaporization equals the
rate of condensation).

How does a nonvolatile

nonelectrolyte solute affect the
vapor pressure of the liquid into
which it dissolves?

The basic answer to this question

is that the vapor pressure of the
solution is lower than the vapor
pressure of the pure solvent.
Vapor Pressure Lowering
How does a nonvolatile nonelectrolyte solute affect the vapor pressure of
the liquid into which it dissolves? The basic answer to this question is
that the vapor pressure of the solution is lower than the vapor
pressure of the pure solvent.

The simplest explanation for why the vapor

pressure of a solution is lower than that of the
pure solvent is related to the concept of dynamic
equilibrium itself. Consider the following
representation of a liquid in dynamic equilibrium
with its vapor. Here the rate of vaporization is
equal to the rate of condensation:

When a nonvolatile solute is added, however,

the solute particles (shown in red) interfere with
the ability of the solvent particles (blue) to
vaporize. The rate of vaporization is thus
diminished compared to that of the pure solvent:
The change in the rate of vaporization creates an imbalance in the
rates; the rate of condensation is now greater than the rate of
vaporization. The net effect is that some of the molecules that
were in the gas state condense into the liquid state. As they
condense, the reduced number of molecules in the gas state
causes the rate of condensation to decrease. Eventually, the two
rates become equal again, but only after the concentration of
solvent molecules in the gas state has decreased:

The result is a
lower vapor
pressure for the
solution compared
to the pure solvent.
Calculate the vapor pressure of a solution made by
dissolving 50 g glucose (C6H12O6) is dissolved in 500
ml of water? (The vapor pressure of water is 47.1 torr
at 37˚C and the density of water is 1 g / ml)?
 Sample Problems

40 g of CaCl2 is dissolved in 600 ml of water at 25 ˚C.

What is the vapor pressure of the solution? (The
vapor pressure of water is 23.8 torr at 25 ˚C and the
density of water is 1 g / ml)?

30 gm of glucose (C6H12O6) is dissolved in 500 ml

of water at 25 ˚C. What is the vapor pressure of the
solution? (The vapor pressure of water is 23.8 torr
at 25 ˚C and the density of water is 1 g / ml)?
Have you ever wondered
why you add salt to the ice
in an ice cream maker? Or
why salt is scattered on icy
roads in cold climates?

Salt lowers the temperature at which a saltwater solution

freezes. A salt and water solution remains liquid even
below 0 °C. When salt is added to ice in the ice cream
maker, an ice/water/salt mixture forms that can reach a
temperature of about -10 °C, at which point the cream
freezes. On the winter road, the salt allows the ice to melt
when the ambient temperature is below freezing.
Some physical properties of the solution differ in important ways
from those of the pure solvent. For example, pure water freezes
at 0 ◦C, but aqueous solutions freeze at lower temperatures. We
utilize this behavior when we add ethylene glycol antifreeze to a
car’s radiator to lower the freezing point of the solution. The
added solute also raises the boiling point of the solution above
that of pure water, making it possible to operate the engine at a
higher temperature

This is why adding salt to ice causes it to melt. The salt molecules
gradually dissolve into the ice and then separate the frozen water
molecules from each other, converting them back to a liquid.
Hence, the salt molecules decrease the water’s freezing point.
Something else you should know is that adding a nonvolatile
solute to a solvent also decreases its freezing point. Why?
Because solutes get in between solvent molecules. This prevents
the solvent molecules from cohering together and freezing.
Freezing point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
Boiling Point Elevation
The boiling point of pure water is 100 ◦C, but the boiling point can
be elevated by the adding of a solute such as a salt. A solution
typically has a measure higher boiling point than the pure solvent.
The boiling point elevation DTb is a colligative property and
defined as the difference between the boiling points of the pure
solvent and a solution of a nonelectrolyte in that solvent, and it is
directly proportional to the molal concentration cm of the solution.

Solutions may be produced for the purpose of raising the boiling

point and lowering the freezing point, as in the use of ethylene
glycol in automobile cooling systems. The ethylene glycol
(antifreeze) protects against freezing by lowering the freezing
point and permits a higher operating temperature by raising the
boiling point.
 Freezing Point Depression in Solutions
The freezing point of pure water is 0 ◦C, but that melting point can be
depressed by the addition of a solvent such as a salt. The use of ordinary salt
(sodium chloride, NaCl) on icy roads in winter helps to melt the ice. A solution
typically has a measurably lower melting point than a pure solvent.

The freezing point depression DTf, is a colligative property and defined as the
difference between the freezing points of the pure solvent and a solution of a
nonelectrolyte in that solvent, and it is directly proportional to the molal concentration m
of the solution

Problem: If you were to make a 0.8 molal aqueous solution of glucose, what
would be its boiling point and freezing point? (Kb = 0.51 ˚C/m, Kf = 1.86 ˚C/m)