Expressing Concentration
Uploaded by
April GonzalesExpressing Concentration
Uploaded by
April GonzalesGonzales, April Jane C.
August 17, 2010
ECE12 Engr. Imelda C. Galera
Expressing Concentration
The concentration of a solution
is a macroscopic property,
represents the amount of solute dissolved in a unit amount of solvent or of
solution, and
can be expressed in a variety of ways (qualitatively and quantitatively).
Qualitative Expressions of Concentration
A solution can be qualitatively described as
dilute: a solution that contains a small proportion of solute relative to solvent, or
concentrated: a solution that contains a large proportion of solute relative to
solvent.
Semi-Quantitative Expressions of Concentration
A solution can be semi-quantitatively described as
unsaturated: a solution in which more solute will dissolve, or
saturated: a solution in which no more solute will dissolve.
The solubility of a solute is the amount of solute that will dissolve in a given amount
of solvent to produce a saturated solution. For example, at 0 oC, we can dissolve a
maximum of 35.7 g of solid NaCl in 100 mL of water (a saturated solution). Any
additional solid NaCl that we add to the saturated solution simply falls to the bottom of
the container and does not dissolve.
Quantitative Expressions of Concentration
There are a number of ways to express the relative amounts of solute and solvent in
a solution. Which one we choose to use often depends on convenience. For example, it
is sometimes easier to measure the volume of a solution rather than the mass of the
solution.
Note that some expressions for concentration are temperature-dependent (i.e., the
concentration of the solution changes as the temperature changes), whereas others are
not. This is an important consideration for experiments in which the temperature does
not remain constant.
Temperature Dependence of Several Concentration Expressions
concentration expression measurements required temperature dependent
percent composition mass of solute no
(by mass) mass of solution (mass does not change with
temperature)
molarity moles of solute yes
volume of solution (volume changes with
temperature)
molality moles of solute no
mass of solvent (neither mass nor moles changes
with temperature)
mole fraction moles of solute no
moles of solvent (moles does not change with
temperature)
