SOLUTIONS

• SOLUTION – is a homogeneous mixture

composed of a solute and a solvent.

• SOLUTE – is the substance that is

dissolved.

• SOLVENT – is the dissolving medium.

• Solutions may exist in any one of the three

phases of matter.
Gaseous Example Liquid Example Solid Example
Solution Solution Solution
Carbon Gas in Hydrogen
Gas in gas Air dioxide in solid gas in
Gas in water platinum
liquid

Liquid in Vapor in Liquid in Alcohol in Liquid in Mercury

gas air liquid water solid in silver

Solid in Naphthalene Solid in Sugar in Solid in Copper in

gas in air liquid water solid silver
(alloy)
 Types of Solution According to the
Amount of Solute Present
1. Saturated Solution – one that contains the maximum
amount of solute that can be dissolved in a given
amount of solvent at the given temperature.
2. Unsaturated Solution – there is less solute that can
be dissolved in the given amount of solvent at the
given temperature.
3. Supersaturated Solution – an unstable condition in
which there is more solute than can normally exist in
the given amount of solvent at the given
temperature.
Concentrations of Solutions
The concentration of a solution
expresses the amount of solute present
in a given amount of solution. A
concentrated solution has more solute
in it than a dilute solution however
these terms do not give the exact
amount of solute present in a solution.
 Ways of Expressing
Concentrations of Solution

Percentage by Mass (Weight) – mass of

solute or solvent divided by mass of
solution, all multiplied by 100

mass of solution = mass of solute +

mass of solvent
Sample Problems:
1. If 28.5 g of calcium hydroxide is dissolved
in enough water to make 185 g of the
solution. Calculate the percent
concentration of calcium hydroxide in the
solution.
2. If 7.5 g of sodium nitrate is dissolved in 85
g of water, calculate the percent
concentration of sodium nitrate in the
solution.
Percent by Volume = volume of solute/solvent x 100
volume of solution
Sample Problems:
1. A wine contains 12% alcohol by volume.
Calculate the number of milliliters of
alcohol in 350 ml of the wine.

2. A solution contains 250 ml of water and 15

ml of isopropyl alcohol. Assuming that a
solution has a volume of 267 ml, what I the
percent by volume of the alcohol and that of
water?
Mole Fraction (X A and X B )
The mole fraction of a component in a
solution is equal to the number of
moles of that component divided by the
total number of moles of all
components present.
Sample Problems:
1. Calculate the mole fraction of phosphoric
acid in 25% aqueous phosphoric acid
solution.

2. A solution is made up of 4 mol A, 5 mol B

and 6 mol C. Calculate the mole fraction of
each component of the solution.
 Molarity/Molar Concentration

Molar concentration or molarity (M) is

defined as the number of moles of solute per
liter of solution.

M = moles solute
liter of solution
Sample Problems:

1. Calculate the molar concentration of a

solution that contains 15 g of potassium
hydroxide in 225 ml of solution.

2. Calculate the number of grams of calcium

nitrate necessary to prepare 450 ml of 2.25
M solution.
 Molal Concentration/Molality

Molality or molal concentration (m) is

defined as the number of moles of solute per
kilogram of solvent.

m = moles of solute
kilogram of solvent
Sample Problems:

1.Calculate the molality of a solution that

contains 18 g of sodium hydroxide in 100 ml
of water (1ml = 1 g).

2. Calculate the molal concentration of 20%

aqueous solution of calcium chloride.
 Normality/
Normal Concentration (N)
Normal concentration or normality is
defined as the number of equivalents of
solute per liter of solution.

N = equivalents of solute
liter of solution
Gram- Equivalents or
Equivalents of Solute = weight of solute
equivalent weight of solute
 Equivalent weight or gram-equivalent
weight- mass in grams that will produce H+
ions or OH- ions in a reaction (for a salt, no.
of + ions)

Equivalent weight = molecular or formula weight in grams

number of H+ or OH- or + ions transferred
Sample Problems:
1. Calculate the normality of a phosphoric
acid solution containing 2.5 g of phosphoric
acid in 135 ml of solution in reactions that
replace all three hydrogen ions.

2. Calculate the normality of a 1.2 M

calcium hydroxide solution
(Note: 1 mole = 2 equivalents)