Exercise 2

Colligative Properties
I.

INTRODUCTION
According to Brown et al (2012), a solution is homogeneous mixture of two or more

substances. The mixture is composed of two, usually called solute and solution. The solute is
defined as the substance that is to be dissolved in the solvent. Meaning, the solvent is usually
greater in a solution. However, this does not mean that the solute is not of great importance to the
properties of the solution. In fact, even without considering the nature of the solute, the number
of solute present in a given solvent can change different properties a solution can manifest such
as its vapor pressure, osmotic pressure, freezing point depression and boiling point elevation
(Zumdhal, 2007). These are called colligative properties.
Before winter comes, people at colder places tend to pour antifreeze in their cars to
prevent the water to freeze. Seawater does not freeze at the poles. Tap water boils at higher
temperature than distilled water. All of these are mixed with these different substances (solute)
that change their freezing or boiling point. Thus, a hypothesis can be made. If a substance is
mixed with another substance such as they make a solution together, then the freezing and
boiling point of the solvent will change.
In this experiment, the effect on the number of solute present in the solution was
determined involving its freezing point and boiling point. The specific objectives of the
experiment are: to describe colligative properties of solution like boiling point elevation and
freezing point depression; to determine the effect of solute concentration boiling point and
freezing point of the solution; and to compute for the molar mass of an unknown solute using
freezing point depression data.

II.

MATERIALS

A. Reagents
Two 2.0 g naphthalene, C10,H8
Lard
B. Apparatus
Weighing scale
Test tube
Beakers (250 mL and 400 mL)
Thermometer
Bunsen burner
Wash bottle

0.20 g unknown solute

100 mL distilled water, H2O
wire gauze
test tube holder
hot plate
stirring rod
iron stand

III. PROCEDURE
Freezing point of naphthalene
First, 2.0 grams of naphthalene in a test tube was weighed. Then, the test tube was put in
a water bath with the water level above the sample of the test tube. The test tube should not be
allowed to touch the bottom of the bath.
The water bath was then heated until the sample had melted and the temperature of the
sample had reached 90 . The flame or hot plate was put off after the said temperature was
reached and the temperature reading was recorded every 15 seconds until the temperature had
fallen to 70 . A cooling curve was then plotted.
Boiling point elevation of water
The boiling point of water was determined by heating 100 mL of distilled water in a 250
mL beaker. Then, the assigned amount of solute from our instructor was obtained. The solute was
dissolved in 100 mL of distilled water. The boiling point of the solution was then determined.
After that, the data of the other groups were gathered.
Waste Disposal
Small amount of lard was used to dissolve the naphthalene solution. Together, the
substances were melted using the same set-up and poured onto the container provided.

IV. DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

Table 2.1. Temperature reading of naphthalene every 15 seconds.
Time (s)

Temperature
()

Observation/s

Time (s)

Temperature
()

Observation/s

0
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
120
135
150
165
180
195
210
225
240
255
270

90
90
90
90
90
90
89
88
87
85
84
82
81
80
80
79
78
78
78

liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid

285
300
315
330
345
360
375
390
405
420
435
450
465
480
495
510
525
540

78
78
78
78
78
78
77
77
77
76.5
76
75
74
73.5
72.5
71.5
70.5
70

liquid
Solid- liquid
Solid-liquid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid

Table 2.2. Temperature reading of naphthalene every 15 seconds.

Time (s)

Temperature
()

Observation/s

Time (s)

Temperature
()

Observation/s

0
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
120
135
150
165
180

90
87
86.5
86
85
84
83.5
83
82
81
80.5
80
79

liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid

300
315
330
345
360
375
390
405
420
435
450
465
480

75
75
75
75
75
75
74.5
74.5
74
74
74
73.5
73

Solid- liquid
Solid- liquid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid
solid

195
210
225
240
255
270
285

78
78
77
76
75.5
78
78

liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid

495
510
525
540
555
570

73
72.5
72
72
71
70

Table 2.3. Comparison of freezing point of pure naphthalene and naphthalene solution.
Temperature (
Observed freezing point of naphthalene
Observed freezing point of naphthalene
solution

78
75

Table 2.4. Observed boiling point with respect to the amount of solute dissolved
Solute dissolved (g)
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
H2O

Temperature (

solid
solid
solid
solid
solid

91
89
87
85
83
81

Pure naphthalene

79

Naphthalene Solution

77
75
73
71

Figure 1. Comparison of cooling curve of pure naphthalene and naphthalene solution

V. DISCUSSION
To study the effect of solute in a solution, in the first setup, a cooling curve of pure
naphthalene and naphthalene solution was made then compared to each other. The cooling curve
was made by tabulating the temperature of the pure naphthalene and naphthalene over time and
plotting them in a graph. It showed that the naphthalene solution reached freezing point at a
lower temperature compared to the other sample. In the second experiment, the boiling point
elevation of water, it matched the expected outcome although some data inconsistency had
resulted. The boiling point of the solution was found to be higher than that of pure water.
In the determination of freezing point of the two samples, pure naphthalene and
naphthalene solution, it was found that the naphthalene solution has a lower freezing point of 80
than pure naphthalene of 84 . It can be explained where the solute in the solution
interfered with the solvent molecules resulted in the reduction of vapor pressure. Solid and liquid
phase at freezing point exists in equilibrium. That said, vapor pressure of the solid and liquid is
also equal (Zumdahl et al., 2014). Freezing point depression happens when the solute reduces the
liquid's vapor pressure. Thereby, no ice will form at the original freezing point since for the
freezing point to be reached, both vapor pressure must be equal. For freezing to occur, there will
come a point lower than the original freezing point where the vapor pressure and liquid becomes
equal (Chang, 2010). Thus, the lowering of freezing point was observed.

Technically, freezing point depression can be explained mathematically by the formula

T f =K f m
where:
Tf
Kf

= change in freezing point (

= freezing point depression constant ( Kg/mole solute )

m - molal concentration (m)

Note: for education purposes the boiling point elevation is:

Tb=Kfm
By looking at the formula, it can be concluded that the degree at how much the freezing
point will change is directly proportional to molal concentration. The molar mass of the unknown
solute was unknown so the change in freezing point was determined experimentally. The change
in the freezing point was found to be 4 . Using the experimental data, the molality of the
solution had been computed using the equation:
m=

Tf
K

which turned out to be 0.580m. Then, the moles of the solute was determined by using
the formula:
n=m mass of solvent kg

was

and was found out to be 1.16x10^-3 mol. Finally, the molar mass of the solute
calculated using the formula
M . M .=

mass of solute g
n

which was found to be 173 g/mol.

The second experiment also agreed with the hypothesis. As seen on Table 2.3, as the
amount of solute increased, the boiling point of the solution also increased. Although in the
solution where the amount of solute was 1 & 3, their boiling points were the same, and solution
with the amount of solute being 2 g had a higher boiling point than the setup with 3 g.
Probable errors committed on the experiment can be contaminants, errors in reading the
temperature, environmental ambiance, and clumsiness and lack of dexterity in performing the
experiment. Contaminants in the solution would result in a lower freezing point of solution that
would, thereby, result in a lower molar mass of the unknown solute. Errors in reading the
temperature would go either ways depending of the deviant nature of the data collected. A lower
temperature read would result in a lower molar mass of the unknown solute. A higher
temperature reading would result in a higher molar mass of the unknown solute. Other possible
sources of errors could be in the failure of distinguishing the freezing point of the naphthalene
solution due to its cloudy appearance from the moisture covering the test tube since it was heated
in a water bath.
An accurate digital thermometer that is calibrated up to .001

would be a good

substitute for the thermometer used in the experiment to increase its precision and accuracy. The
determination of the molar mass of the solute should also be cut out. Instead, it would be better if
it would be actually determining the cryoscopic constant in order to really validate if the students
were actually committing errors in performing the experiment.

VI. CONCLUSION
The effect of solute in boiling and freezing point was determined by plotting a cooling
curve of pure naphthalene and naphthalene solution and comparing the boiling point of distilled
water from an aqueous solution.
On the first experiment, the determination of freezing point of pure naphthalene and
naphthalene solutions, the observed temperature was tabulated versus time while recording their

phase. Naphthalene solution, the sample that has a solute, showed a lower freezing point
(freezing point = 75 ) compared to the pure naphthalene which has 78 . In the
second experiment, the aqueous solution had a higher boiling point compared to the pure solvent
even with some minor errors. The experiment results matched the expected result and hypothesis.
Therefore, it can be concluded the amount of solute affects the boiling point or freezing point of
the solution relative to its solvent. It would either raise its boiling point or lower its original
freezing point.

VII. LITERATURE CITED

Brown, T.L., Bursten, B.E. LeMay, H.G., Murphy, C.J., and Woodwards P.M. 2012. Chemistry:
The Central Science 12th edition. Pearson Education, Inc.
Chang, Raymond. 2008. General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts. Random House, Inc.
Zumdahl, S.A., Zumdahl, S.S. 2014. Chemistry 9th edition. Cengage Learning, California. p. 529