It is often helpful to know how many moles of solute are present in one liter of solution,

especially when these solutions are involved in chemical reactions. Molarity and normality
describe the numbers (moles) of reactants or products dissolved in one liter of solution.

Molarity:
“Moles of solute contained in one liter of solution is known as Molarity”
Molarity, also known as molar concentration, measures the number of moles of a substance
present in per liter of solution. Molarity is denoted with a capital M.
Molarity can be calculated using the formula:

mol(Number of moles)
M=
L(volume of solution ∈liters)
EXAMPLE:
The molecular weight of glucose sugar is 180 g/mole. If 360 g of glucose is dissolved in enough
water to make one liter of solution, the concentration of glucose is 2.00M:

360 g 1mole 2.00 mole

× = =2.00 M
1L 180 g L

So a solution with 1.0M would state that it contains 1 mole of solute per liter of solution. For
example: A solution of water and sugar. If the solution is measured as 1.0 M, then the solution
has 1 mole of sugar per liter of solution present. Molarity is also known as amount-of-substance
concentration, amount concentration, substance concentration or simply concentration.

Normality:
“Moles of reactive units per liter (equivalents per liter) is known as Normality”
or
“The normality of a solution is the concentration expressed as the number of equivalent weights
(equivalents) of solute per liter of solution.”
Where molarity describes the moles of a complete substance per liter of solution, normality
describes only the moles of reactive species per liter of solution. Normality is always a multiple
of molarity. It describes the “equivalent” moles of reactants involved in chemical reactions.
Normality is basically a measure of concentration that is equal to the gram equivalent weight per
liter of solution. An equivalent is the number of moles of reactive units in a compound. Gram
equivalent weight is a measure of the reactive capacity of a molecule. According to
chemeketa.edu, Normality is denoted with a capital N. In laymen’s terms, normality of an acid is
how many H+ ions it has that can be donated to a solution. Similarly, in a base, normality is
determined by how many OH- ions does the compound have to negate the hydrogen ions in the
solution.

Relationship between Normality and Molarity:

A simple relationship between Normality and Molarity is explained by following formula..

Normality = molarity x n
Where;
n = the number of protons exchanged in a reaction

Key Difference:
 Molarity, also known as molar concentration, measures the number of moles of a
substance present in per liter of solution. Molarity is denoted with a capital M.
 Normality is basically a measure of concentration that is equal to the gram equivalent
weight per liter of solution.
Equivalent Weight:
It is defined as follows:

 Combine or displace directly or indirectly with 1.008 parts by mass of hydrogen or 8

parts by mass of oxygen or 35 parts by mass of 35.5 parts by mass of chlorine; or
 Supply or react with one mole of hydrogen cations H+  in an acid–base reaction; or
 Supply or react with one mole of electrons e − in a redox reaction.

It is defined as the mass of an element/compound/ion which combines or displaces 1 part of

hydrogen or 8 parts of oxygen or 35.5 parts of chlorine by mass. It is not always possible to
apply this classic definition to determine equivalent weights of chemical entities. It is so because,
we cannot conceive of reactions involving chemical entities with three named reference of
hydrogen, oxygen and chlorine. Generally, we are limited to determination of equivalent weights
of elements and few compounds by using this definition of equivalent weight. A more workable
definition is given as;

Molecular Weight Mo
Equivalent Weight, E = Valence Factor = X

Clearly, determination of equivalent weight amounts to determining valence factor “x”. Here, we
shall classify chemical entities and the techniques to determine “x”.
Equivalent mass is equal to the molecular or atomic mass divided by the number of electrons
involved in the reaction per molecule, atom or ion. For example in the reaction.

two electrons are needed to produce one molecule of hydrogen gas. So, 2 Faraday of electricity is
needed to produce one mole of hydrogen gas.
Hence,
Q: Find the mass of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3), that must be added a 1.00 L of
volumetric flask containing distilled water to make a 1.0 M solution. Find the
Normality of the solution.

Solution:

No. of Atoms Elements Atomic Weight n x AW

1 Sodium, Na 22.9897 22.9897
1 Hydrogen, H 1.0079 1.0079
1 Carbon, C 12.0107 12.0107
3 Oxygen, O 15.9994 47.9982
Molecular weight = 84.0065

By using equation 2-71

mg. L-1 = molarity x molecular weight x 103

Concentration = (1.0 mol. L-1 ). (84.0065 g. mol-1)
= 84.0065 g. L-1
Therefore 84 g of sodium carbonate must be added to 1 L of solution to prepare a 1 M solution.
Because HCO3 - is able to donate or accept only one proton , n = 1,

Using Equation 2-76

N = nM
= 1(1)
N = 1

“So Normality of the solution is 1“