CALCULATIONS INVOLVING SOLUTIONS

A. Concentrations of Solutions

Concentration

Ways of Expressing the Concentration of Solutions:

1. Percent by mass( % m/m)- is computed by dividing the mass of the solute by the
mass of the solution

m mass solute
% = x 100%
m mass solution

a. To maintain the same sodium chloride( NaCl) solution concentration as sea

water, an aquarium should contain 3.5 gram NaCl per 100 gram of water. What is
the % m/m of NaCl in the solution?

3.5 g
% m/m = x 100%
103.5

= 3.38%

b. Bleach solution contains the solute sodium hypochlorite(NaClO) . How

many grams of NaClO are in 1,500.0 grams of 3.62% bleach solution?

mass solute
% m/m = x 100%
mass solution

x
3.62 % = x 100%
1,500 g

X = 0.0362 ( 1,500 g)

X = 54.3 grams

2. Percent by volume ( % v/v)

v volume solute
% = x 100%
v volume solution

a. What is the percent by volume of a solution if 70 ml of alcohol is added in

enough water to make a 100 ml solution?

v volume solute
% = x 100%
v volume solution

v 70 ml
% = x 100%
v 100 ml

= 70%

b. What is the percent by volume of rubbing alcohol, an aqueous solution of

liquid isopropyl alcohol, in a solution that contains 42 ml of isopropyl alcohol in 1.2 L
of water?

v volume solute
% = x 100%
v volume solution
 v 42 ml
% = x 100%
v 1242 ml

= 3.38%

3. ppm,ppb and ppt - if the solute is present in very low concentrations, then one of
these units os used ; parts per million (ppm), parts per billion(ppb) or parts per
trillion (ppt). One part per million means that 1.0 mg of solute is dissolved in 1.0 L of
water. At this concentration, the solution wil have the same density as water which
is 1g/ml. Thus we can rewrite 1000 f. solution or 1 g solute/1,000,000 g solution.
The same process can be done with 1ug/L to get 1pbb and 1 ng/L to get 1 ppt.
Take note that :
1 ppm = 1 mg/l
1 pbb = 1 ug/l
1 ppt = 1 ng/l

4. Molarity(M) it is defined as the number of mole

solute in one liter of a solution

mole solute
M=
volume solution (l)

a. To prevent dehydration, intravenous (IV) solution is given to hospital

patients. Commonly used are solutions containing sodium chloride and glucose. A
150.0 ml IV solution contains 6.60 grams glucose. What is the molarity of this
solution? The molar mass of glucose is 180.16 g/mol

mole solute
M=
mass solvent (kg)

b. What is the molarity of a bleach solution containing 12.5 grams NaClO per
litr of bleach?

5. Molality (m) is defines as the mole solute in a kilogram of solvent

mole solute
m=
mass solvent (kg)

a. A 3.0 mole of NaCl is dissolved in 2,000 grams of water. Find the molality
of the solution.

b. What is the molality of the solution if 25 CaCl 2 is added with 250 grams
water?

6.Mole Fraction (mf) is defined as the ratio of the number of moles solute in a given
mole solution.

mole solute
mf =
mole solution

a. What is the mole fraction of HCl in an aqueous solution that contains 44.2 grams
HCl and 88.6 grams water?

b. What is the mole of NaOH in an aqueous solution that contains 33.9% NaOH by
mass?
7. Normality (N) is defined as the number of equivalent solute in a liter of solution.

number of equivalence of solute

N=
volume solution(l)

Equivalent weight – is the molecular weight of an acid or base divided by the

equivalent of hydrogen or hydroxide ion it has per molecule.

molecular weight
Equiv wt acid ¿
no . of replaceable H

molecular weight
Equiv wt base ¿
no . of replaceable OH

mass solute
No. of equivalence¿
¿ weight

a. Determine the normality of a 2.5 l solution that contains 12.5 grams H 2SO4.

b. What is the normality of a solution that contains 13.6 grams NaOH in 1.5 liter
solutio

B. Dilution- lowers the concentration of a solution

Vc x Mc = Vd x Md

Where Vc = volume of concentrated solution

Mc = molarity of concentrated solution
Vd = volume of diluted solution
Md = molarity of diluted solution

a. How would you prepare a 5 liters of 3 molar hydrosulfuric acid from

a 12 molar solution?

b. How would you prepare a 3 liters of 1.5molar NaOH from a 7 molar

solution

C. Colligative Properties
Colligative properties are the behaviours of a solution that depend on
the concentration of its solute.
The colligative properties are:
1. freezing point depression (∆ T ) is the decrease in the freezing
point of a solution due to the presence of a solute. Freezing point depression
is directly proportional to the molal concentration of the solute.

∆ T = mkf
- is the freezing point depression
m - is the molal concentration of the solution
- is the freezing point depression constant
 Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
Constants of Common Liquids
Solvent Formula Melting Boiling Kf( 0C/m) Kb(0C/m)
Point Point
Acetic acid HC2H3O2 16.60 118.5 3.59 3.08
Benzene C6H6 5.455 80.2 5.065 2.61
Camphor C10H16O 179.5 207.42 40 5.611
Carbon
Disulfide CS2 46.3 2.40
Ethanol C2H5OH 78.3 1.07
Water H2O 0.0 100.0 1.858 0.52

a. Calculate the freezing point of a solution which contains 3.8 grams C10H16O in 40 grams
of H2O.
b. Calculate the freezing point of a solution that contains 37.5 grams of NaHCO 3 in 125 grams
HC2H3O2
2. boiling point ( ∆ T ¿elevation is the increase in the boiling point of a
solution due to the presence of solute.
The presence of solute lowers the vapour pressure of a liquid at any
given temperature.
Tb = mKb
Where:
- is the boiling elevation
m - is the molality of a solution
Kb – is the boiling point elevation constant

a. What is the boiling point of the solution if 35 grams of KCl is dissolved in

100 grams water
b. Fifty grams of water dissolves 0.30 grams of urea (CH 4N2O). Determine
the boiling point of the solution.
3. osmotic pressure( π ¿is the pressure that must be applied on the
solution compartment to prevent osmosis.
Osmosis is the process for the solvent to diffuse through the semi-
permeable membrane into the solution compartment.
Osmosis explains the following:
a. to preserve food, salt and sugar are used because bacteria( which
can cause spoilage) die when water escapes their cell membrane to a
solution of high salt or sugar concentration
b. Salt water fishes die when they are transferred to fresh water lakes.
This is because osmosis causes the concentration of solutes in the fish body
to change.
c. Swimming in a beach makes a person thirsty and can cause his skin
to wrinkle because sea water has a higher salt concentration than body
tissues.
d. Intravenous fluids must have solute concentrations comparable to
that of the blood’s plasma. If not, the patient’s cell may swell or shrink and
burst.

Osmotic pressure is dependent on the molarity of a solution at a given Kelvin

temperature. It can be expressed mathematically as:
 π ¿=MRT
Where π = is the osmotic pressure in atmosphere
M =is the concentration of the solution in molar
R = is the universal gas constant which is equal to 0.0821 atm-L/mol-K
T = is the temperature in absolute Kelvin

a.) Determine the osmotic pressure of a solution that contains 0.300 mole of
sugar in 600 cc at 250C.

b. What is the osmotic pressure of a solution that contains 25 grams NaCl in

350 ml solution at 350C?
4. vapour pressure lowering
Vapour pressure measures the tendency of a liquid to vaporize( or to
become gaseous).
The presence of any solute will lower the vapour pressure of a liquid. Rault’s
law states that for an ideal solution the vapour pressure of the solution is
equal to the mole fraction of the solvent multiplied by the vapour pressure of
the pure solvent. Mathematically, it can be expressed as:

P = P 0X
Where P = is the vapour pressure of the solution
P0 = is the vapour pressure of the solvent at a given temperature
X = is the mole fraction of solvent in the solution

a. 95.2 grams of glycerine (C3H8O3) is dissolved in 200 grams of ethyl

alcohol(C2H5OH) at 400C. The vapour pressure of ethyl alcohol is 135.3 torr at
400C. Determine the vapour pressure of the solution.

b. A 35 grams of C12H22O11 is dissolved in 250 grams water at 25 0C. The

vapour pressure of water is 760 torr at 250C. Determine the vapour pressure
of the solution.