Definition of Some Derived Physical Quantities

Definitions of some commonly used derived dimensions and

their units (mostly shown in SI) are described here.
Density ( ρ )
• Density is the ratio of the actual mass of a particle to its
actual volume. Its dimensional formula is ML − 3 and is
expressed as kg · m − 3 in SI units.
• For powders and particulate solids, the density of individual
particles represents the particle density.
• The density of gases depends on temperature and pressure.
The ideal gas law states that
PV = nRT
Temperature ( T )

Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of an object.

Angular velocity

Time rate at which an object rotates, or revolves, about an axis, or at which the
angular displacement between two bodies changes

Angular acceleration α is defined as the rate of change of angular velocity.

 Units of Concentration
The concentration of a solution is defined as the amount of
solute dissolved in a given amount of solvent or solution.

There are many ways in which the concentration of a

solution can be described.

The molarity (M) of a solution is defined as the ratio of the

number of moles of solute in the solution divided by the
volume of the solution in liters.

Mass percent is literally the percentage of the total mass of

a solution that is due to the solute.

It is also possible to describe the concentration of a solution

in terms of the volume percent.

This unit is used to describe solutions of one liquid

dissolved in another or mixtures of gases.

Wine labels, for example, describe the alcoholic content as

12% by volume, because 12% of the total volume is alcohol.
When it is important to know how much solute and solvent are present in a solution, chemists
use two other concentration units: molality and mole fraction.

The molality (m) of a solution is defined as the number of moles

of solute in the solution divided by the mass in kilograms of the
solvent used to make the solution.

The ratio of solute to solvent in a solution can also be described

in terms of the mole fraction of the solute or the solvent in a
solution.

By definition, the mole fraction of any component of a solution

is the fraction of the total number of moles of solute and
solvent that come from that component.

The symbol for mole fraction is a Greek capital letter chi: χ

In a solution, that contains a single solute dissolved in a solvent,

the sum of the mole fraction of the solute and the solvent must
be equal to 1.
 Normality
• Normality (N) is defined as the number of gram
equivalents per liter of solution

Normality = number of gram equivalents/1 L of solution

• Like molarity, normality relates the amount of solute to the total volume
of solution; however, normality is specifically used for acids and bases.

How to calculate normality from molarity

• The mole equivalents of an acid or base are calculated by determining
the number of H+ or OH- ions per molecule: N = n × M (where n is an
integer)
• For an acid solution, n is the number of H+ ions provided by a formula
unit of acid.
• For a basic solution, n is the number of OH- ions provided by a formula
unit of base.
Dilutions

When preparing a dilution, decide the volume and molar

concentration of the resulting solution you require.

Use the following equation to determine how much of the

concentrated reagent is needed to prepare the diluted solution,

Mreagent × Vreagent = Mdilution × Vdilution

where M is molarity and V is volume.

Slowly add the calculated volume of concentrated reagent to the

proper-size volumetric flask half filled with distilled or deionized water
and swirl the flask to mix.