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ñ  ñ £

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An alternative unit of concentration to molarity is molality. The |  The À À  of a solution refers to the amount of solute in a
of a solute is the number of moles of that solute divided by the weight given amount of solvent. There are many ways to express,
of the solvent in kilograms. For water solutions, 1 kg of water has a quantatively, the concentration of a solution. Some solution properties
volume close to that of 1 liter, so molality and molarity are similar in depend on the relative amounts of all the solution components in terms
dilute aqueous solutions.àà of moles. The mole fraction of a solution component Xi is the fraction
To figure out the molarity of a solution, simply work out the number of of moles of component  of the total number of moles of all components
moles of the solute (Probably from the molecular weight) and divide by in solution.
the weight of the solvent. It's probably the case that you're given a 
volume of solvent rather than the weight: use the density to convert moles of
between the twoàà à
component 
molality (ñ) = moles solute/kg of solutionà à X = ------------------------
To convert a volume and a molality of a solution to moles of solute, à
simply solve the above equation for moles of solute:àà total moles of
moles solute = molality * kg of solutionà à solution
£  If you have 10.0 grams of Br2 and dissolve it in 1.00 L of à
cyclohexane, what is the molality of the solution? The density of The mole fraction is:
cyclohexane is 0.779 kg/l at room temperature.àà moles of target substance divided by total moles involved
[  : First, work out the number of moles of bromine. Br2 has a The symbol for the mole fraction is the lower-case Greek letter chi, Ȥ.
molecular weight of 159.8 g/mole, so we haveàà You will often see it with a subscript: Ȥsolute is an example.
10 g / (159.8 g/mole) = 0.063 moles BR2 à £  0.100 mole of NaCl is dissolved into 100.0 grams of pure
Next, convert the volume of solvent to the weight of solvent using the H2O. What is the mole fraction of NaCl?
densityàà [  
1.00 L * 0.779 kg/l = 0.779 kgà 1
100.0 g / 18.0 g mol¯ = 5.56 mol of H2O
Now just divide the two to get the molalityàà Add that to the 0.100 mol of NaCl = 5.56 + 0.100 = 5.66 mol total
0.063 moles Br2/ 0.779 kg cyclohexane = Ñ ÑÑ  à Mole fraction of NaCl = 0.100 mol / 5.66 mol = 0.018
à What is the mole fraction of the H2O?
ñ   5.56 mol / 5.66 mol = 0.982
Another way of expressing concentration, the way that we will use à
most in this course, is called   
. Molarity is the number of moles à
of solute dissolved in one liter of solution. The units, therefore are
    , specifically it's      per     .   A weak acid has a pKa of 3.994 and the solution pH is
Rather than writing out moles per liter, these units are abbreviated as 4.523. What percentage of the acid is dissociated?
M or ñ. We use a capital M with a line under it or a capital ñ written in A comment before discussing the solution: note that the pKa is given,
italics. So when you see ñ or M rather than the Ka. The first thing we will need to do is convert the pKa
it stands for molarity, and it to the Ka. Then, the two values we need to obtain to solve the problem
|  | 
 
  +
given just above are [H ], which is pretty easy and [HA], which is only a
means     (not just    
  à
moles). tiny bit more involved.
You must be very careful to distinguish between   and   
. [  
"Moles" measures the amount or quantity of material you have; 1) Convert pKa to Ka:
¯pK 3.994 4
"molarity" measures the concentration of that material. So when you're Ka = 10 a = 10¯ = 1.0139 x 10¯
given a problem or some information that says the concentration of the Often the identity of the weak acid is not specified. That is because,
solution is 0.1 M that means that it has 0.1 mole for every liter of with few exceptions, all weak acids behave in the same way and so the
solution; it does not mean that it is 0.1 moles. Please be sure to make same techniques can be used no matter what acid is used in the
that distinction.àà problem. In cases where no acid is identified, you can use a generic
weak acid, signified by the formula HA. Here is the dissociation
à equation for HA:
å 
 +
H + A¯ <===> HA
When you need to compare solutions on the basis of À À    Here is the equilibrium expression for that dissociation:
ÀÀ  or the amount of charge that the ions have, a different +
Ka = ([H ] [A¯]) / [HA]
measure of concentration can be very useful. It is called  
. +
2) The pH will give [H ] (and the [A¯]):
We will deal with normality more completely in the lesson on acid-base + pH
[H ] = 10¯ = 10¯
4.523 5
= 3.00 x 10¯ M
titrations and give it just a cursory mention in this lesson. For that Because of the 1:1 molar ratio in the above equation, we know that
reason you can    À  
    in your +
[A¯] = [H ] = 3.00 x 10¯ M.
5
workbook for this lesson. 3) This means that the only value left is [HA], so we will use the
The normality of a solution is simply a    
of the equilibrium expression to calculate [HA].
solution. Generally, the normality of a solution is just one, two or three 4 5
1.0139 x 10¯ = [(3.00 x 10¯ ) (3.00 x 10¯ )] / x
5
times the molarity. In rare cases it can be four, five, six or even seven x = 8.88 x 10¯ M
5
times as much. The symbol for normality is N or å. +
4) Percent dissociation for an acid is [H ] / [HA] and then times 100.
5 5
Whether the multiplying factor is 3.00 x 10¯ / 8.88 x 10¯ = 33.8%
one, two or three depends on the
5
formula of the chemical and what it CaCl2
2+
Ca + 2 Cl
-   A solution of acetic acid (Ka = 1.77 x 10¯ ) has a pH of
is being compared to. Note that 2.876. What is the percent dissociation?
calcium chloride has two moles of 1 M CaCl2 = 2 N CaCl2 [  
chloride ions for every mole of 2.4 M CaCl2 = 4.8 N CaCl2 +
1) Calculate the [H ] from the pH:
CaCl2. Because of that, the etc. + pH
[H ] = 10¯ = 10¯
2.876 3
= 1.33 x 10¯ M
multiplying factor for calcium 2) From the 1:1 stoichiometry of the chemical equation, we know that
+
chloride is two. the acetate ion concentration, [Ac¯] equals the [H ]. Therefore,
3
[Ac¯] = 1.33 x 10¯ M
3+ -
AlCl3 Al + 3 Cl 3) We need to determine [HAc], the acetic acid concentration. We use
Similarly, for aluminum chloride the 1 M AlCl3 = 3 N AlCl3 the Ka expression to determine this value:
5 3 3
multiplying factor is three. 2.4 M AlCl3 = 7.2 N AlCl3 1.77 x 10¯ = [(1.33 x 10¯ ) (1.33 x 10¯ )] / x
etc. x = 0.09993 M = 0.100 M
4) Percent dissociation:
3
Hopefully, this gives you an idea of the nature and value of normality (1.33 x 10¯ / 0.100) times 100 = 1.33%
and its relationship to molarity. As mentioned earlier, it will be covered Comment: the first example is somewhat artifical, in that the percent
in more detail in the lesson involving acid-base titrations. dissocation is quite high. The second example is more in line with what
teachers usually ask. The usual percent dissociation answer is
between 1 and 5 per cent. However, the 33.8% answer, while not
commonly found in introductory chemistry classes, is possible.

   A generic weak acid (formula = HA) has a pKa of 4.401. If


the solution pH is 3.495, what percentage of the acid is undissociated?
[  
1) Convert pKa to Ka:
5
Ka = 10¯pKa = 10¯4.401 = 3.97 x 10¯
+
2) The pH gives [H ] (and the [A¯]):
+ pH 3.495 4
[H ] = 10¯ = 10¯ = 3.20 x 10¯ M
3) Determine the concentration of the weak acid:
+
Ka = ([H ] [A¯]) / [HA]
5 4 4
3.97 x 10¯ = [(3.20 x 10¯ ) (3.20 x 10¯ )] / x
x = 0.00258 M
4) Determine percent dissociation:
4
3.20 x 10¯ / 0.00258 = 12.4%
5) Determine percent undissociated:
100 - 12.4 = 87.6%
Comment: the calculation technique discussed above determines the
percent dissociation. Notice that the above problem asks for the
percent undissociated.
Be aware! The problem above goes one step beyond what is normally
taught. This might show up as a test question.

  A weak acid has a pKa of 4.289. If the solution pH is


3.202, what percentage of the acid is dissociated?
[  
1) Convert pKa to Ka:
5
Ka = 10¯pKa = 10¯4.289 = 5.14 x 10¯
+
2) The pH gives [H ] (and the [A¯]):
+ pH 3.202 4
[H ] = 10¯ = 10¯ = 6.28 x 10¯ M
3) Determine the concentration of the weak acid:
+
Ka = ([H ] [A¯]) / [HA]
5 4 4
5.14 x 10¯ = [(6.28 x 10¯ ) (6.28 x 10¯ )] / x
x = 0.00767284 M (kept a few guard digits on this one
4) Determine percent dissociation:
4
6.28 x 10¯ / 0.00767284 = 8.2%

 

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