WAYS OF

EXPRESSING
CONCENTRATIONS
OF SOLUTIONS
Mixtures – a review
Mixture: a combination of two or more substances
that do not combine chemically but remain the
same individual substances; can be separated by
physical means.

Two types:
Heterogeneous
Homogeneous
Heterogeneous Mixture
“Hetero” means “different”

Consists of visibly different substances or phases (solid, liquid, gas)

Can be separated by filtering

Example:
Homogeneous Mixture
“Homo” means the same
has the same uniform appearance and composition
throughout; maintain one phase (solid, liquid, gas)
Commonly referred to as solutions
 Example:

Salt Water
A solution is a type of
mixture.
 Solution: a type of mixture that is the same
throughout.
 A solution can be physically separated
 All portions of the solution have the same
properties
 Homogeneous: the same
 Examples: salt water, blood, sugar water,
gasoline
Types of Solutions
Gaseous solutions – air = Oxygen + Nitrogen

Liquid solutions – drinks = mix + water

Solid solutions – alloys = steel, brass, etc

Solutes and Solvents
Solute: a substance that is dissolved to make a
solution.
when dissolved it separates into individual
particles
Solvent: is a substance that dissolves a solute.
 when the solute is dissolved into the solvent it is not
possible to identify the solvent and solute as
individual parts
 Examples of Solutes and Solvents

Saltwater:

salt = solute,
water = solvent

Blood:

calcium ions, sugars =

solutes, water = solvent
CONCENTRATION
A measure of the amount of
solute that is dissolved in a
specified amount of solvent
It is a term used when the
amount of solute is more.
 Degrees of Concentration

 Dilute: a solution has a low concentration of solute

 Saturated: a solution that contains the maximum
amount of solute that can be dissolved into the
solvent at a given temperature.
 Supersaturated: a solution can contain more solute
than normal by raising the temperature of the
solvent.
Solubility
the amount of solute that dissolves in a certain
amount of a solvent at a given temperature and
pressure to produce a saturated solution
 Factors affecting solubility of
solids
increased temperature
Temperature causes
solids to dissolve faster

Smaller particles dissolve

Particle Size Faster because they have
more surface area
Shaking (agitation) causes
Shaking solids to dissolve faster
Note: Increasing the amount of solute
DOES NOT increase the rate of dissolving
Solubility Curves
Generally, the
solubility of solid
solutes in liquid
solvents increases
with increasing
temperature.
Ways of Expressing Concentrations of
Solutions
• % by Mass
• % by Volume
• % by Mass/Volume
• ppm
• ppb
• Mole Fraction
• Molarity
• Molality
• Normality
 A. PERCENT BY MASS
- It is the ratio to the mass of the
solution multiplied by 100%.

mass of solute (g)

% by mass = mass of solute (g) + mass of solvent (g)
X 100

mass of solute (g)

% by mass = X 100
mass of solution (g)
Example 1: In a solution
prepared by dissolving 30 g
of sodium chloride (NaCl)
in 158 g of water, what is
the mass percent of sodium
chloride?
Example 2: A sample of
0.982 g of potassium
chloride (KCl) is dissolved
in 52.6 g of water. What is
the percent by mass of KCl
in the solution?
Example 3: Find the
percent by mass in
which 43.0 g of NaCl
is dissolved in 341
grams of water.
B. PERCENT BY VOLUME
- it is used for reporting the
concentration of liquid solutes in a
solution.
- the unit of volume should be in mL

volume of solute (mL)

% by volume = X 100
Volume of solute (mL) + volume of solvent (mL)

volume of solute (mL)

% by volume = X 100
volume of solution (mL)
Example 1. A solution of
propanol (CH3CH2CH2OH) is
prepared by dissolving 69 mL
in enough water to have a final
volume of 350 mL. What is the
volume percent of propanol?
Example 2. What is the
percent by volume
concentration of a
solution in which 55.0
ml of ethanol is diluted
to a volume of 250.0 ml?
Example 3. What volume
of acetic acid is present
in a bottle containing
350.0 ml of a solution
which measures 5.00%
concentration?
C. Percent by
mass/volume

mass of solute (g)

% by mass/volume = X 100
volume of solution (mL)
 Mass/volume
concentration
1. Calculate the percentage
concentration if 40 grams of NaOH
are contained in a 600- mL solution.
D. PARTS PER MILLION (PPM)
- is a term used to denote a very, very
low concentration of a solution.

gram of solute
ppm = X 106
gram of solution
Example 1. What is the
concentration of a
solution in parts per
million, if 0.05 g of NaCl
is dissolved in 1100 g of
solutions?
Example 2. What is the
total mass of the solute
in 1000 g of solution
having a concentration
of 5 ppm?
D. PARTS PER BILLION (PPB)
- is a term used to denote a very, very
low concentration of a solution.

gram of solute
ppb = X 109
gram of solution
Example. What is the
concentration of a
solution in parts per
billion, if 0.25 g of NaCl
is dissolved in 2100 g of
solutions?