Calculating

Molarity
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The properties and behavior of many solutions depend not only on
the nature of the solute and solvent but also on the concentration
of the solute in the solution. Chemists use many different units
when expressing concentration; however, one of the most common
units is molarity. Molarity (M) is the concentration of a solution
expressed as the number of moles of solute per liter of solution:
Molarity (M) = moles solute

liters solution
For example, a 0.25 M NaOH solution (this is read as 0.25 molar)
contains 0.25 moles of sodium hydroxide in every liter of solution.
Anytime you see the abbreviation M you should immediately think
of it as mol/L.
In order to calculate the molarity of a solution, you need to know
the number of moles of solute and the total volume of the solution.
To calculate molarity:
1. Calculate the number of moles of solute present.
2. Calculate the number of liters of solution present.
3. Divide the number of moles of solute by the number of
liters of solution.


The following example will illustrate both methods.
Example: What is the molarity of a solution prepared by dissolving 15.0 g
of sodium hydroxide in enough water to make a total of 225 mL of
solution?
Method 1:
Calculate the number of moles of solute present.
mol NaOH = 15.0g NaOH x 1 mol NaOH

40.0 g NaOH
mol NaOH = 0.375 mol NaOH

Calculate the number of liters of solution present.
L soln = 225 mL x 1 L = 0.225 L soln

1000 mL

Divide the number of moles of solute by the number of liters of
solution.
M = 0.375 mol NaOH = 1.67 M NaOH

0.225 L soln

Practice
Problems


1. What is the molarity of a solution that contains 1.724 moles
of H
2
SO
4
in 2.50 L of solution?
2. What is the molarity of a solution prepared by dissolving 25.0
g of HCl (g) in enough water to make 150.0 mL of solution

Molarity
Solutions to
Practice Problems

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1. What is the molarity of a solution that contains
1.724 moles of H
2
SO
4
in 2.50 L of solution?
o Calculate the number of moles of solute
present.
mol H
2
SO
4
= 1.724 mol (given)
o Calculate the number of liters of solution
present.
L soln = 2.50 L (given)
o Divide the number of moles of solute by the
number of liters of solution.
M = 1.724 mol H
2
SO
4
= 0.690 M H
2
SO
4


2.50 L soln



o
2. What is the molarity of a solution prepared by
dissolving 25.0 g of HCl (g) in enough water to make
150.0 mL of solution?