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.

Microscopic view of a dilute solution of liquid

Br2 dissolved in liquid water.

Microscopic view of a concentrated solution of

liquid Br2 dissolved in liquid water.

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 0oC, 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
(by mass)

mass of solute
mass of solution

no
(mass does not change with
temperature)

molarity

moles of solute
volume of solution

yes
(volume changes with
temperature)

molality

moles of solute
mass of solvent

no
(neither mass nor moles changes
with temperature)

mole fraction

moles of solute
moles of solvent

no
(moles does not change with
temperature)

Percent Composition (by mass)

We can consider percent by mass (or weight percent, as it is sometimes called) in two ways:

The parts of solute per 100 parts of solution.

The fraction of a solute in a solution multiplied by 100.

We need two pieces of information to calculate the percent by mass of a solute in a solution:

The mass of the solute in the solution.

The mass of the solution.

Use the following equation to calculate percent by mass:

Molarity
Molarity tells us the number of moles of solute in exactly one liter of a solution. (Note that molarity is spelled with
an "r" and is represented by a capital M.)
We need two pieces of information to calculate the molarity of a solute in a solution:

The moles of solute present in the solution.

The volume of solution (in liters) containing the solute.

To calculate molarity we use the equation:

Molality
Molality, m, tells us the number of moles of solute dissolved in exactly one kilogram of solvent. (Note that molality
is spelled with two "l"'s and represented by a lower case m.)
We need two pieces of information to calculate the molality of a solute in a solution:

The moles of solute present in the solution.

The mass of solvent (in kilograms) in the solution.

To calculate molality we use the equation:

Mole Fraction
The mole fraction, X, of a component in a solution is the ratio of the number of moles of that component to the total
number of moles of all components in the solution.
To calculate mole fraction, we need to know:

The number of moles of each component present in the solution.

The mole fraction of A, XA, in a solution consisting of A, B, C, ... is calculated using the equation:

To calculate the mole fraction of B, XB, use:

Different ways of expressing the concentration of solution

s Mass Percentage
The mass percentage of a component in a given solution is the mass of the component per 100g of the
solution. For e.g., if WA is the mass of the component A, WB
is the mass of the component B in a solution. Then,

Example: A 10% solution of sodium chloride in water (by mass) means that 10g of sodium chloride are present in 100g of the
solution.

Volume percentage
This unit is used in case of a liquid dissolved in another liquid. The volume percentage is defined as the
volume of the solute per 100 parts by volume of solution.
For e.g., If VA is the volume of component A present is Vsol volume of the solution.
Then,

For e.g., a 10% solution of ethanol C2H5OH, in water (by volume) means that 10cm3 of ethanol is present
in 100cm3 of the solution.
Strength of a solution is defined as the amount of the solute in gms, present in one litre of the solution. It
is expressed as gL-1.
Mathematically,

Molarity
Molarity of a solution is defined as the number of moles of solute dissolved per litre of solution.
Mathematically,

For e.g., If 'a' is the weight of the solute (in gms) present in VCC volume of the solution.
Then,

Molarity is expressed by the symbol M. It can also be expressed as,

Normality
Normality of a solution is defined as the number of gram equivalents (gm.e) of a solute dissolved per litre
of the given solution.
Mathematically it is,

For e.g., If a is the weight of the solute (in gms) present in VCC volume of the solution. Then,

Normality is expressed by the symbol N. It can also be expressed as,

Relationship between molarity and normality

The molarity and normality of a solution is related to each other as follows:

Molality
Molality of a solution is defined as the number of moles of solute dissolved in 1000g of a solvent.
Mathematically, it is expressed as

Molality is expressed by the symbol m.

Molality does not change with temperature.
Formality
In case of ionic compounds like KCl, CaCO3 etc. Formality is used in place of molarity.
It is the number of gram formula masses of solute dissolved per liter of the solution. It is denoted by the
symbol F. Mathematically it is given as,

Mole Fraction
It is the ratio of number of moles of one component (solute or solvent) to the total number of moles of all
the components (solute and solvent) present in the solution. It is denoted by the symbol X. Let us suppose
that a solution contains two components A and B and suppose that n A moles of A and nBmoles of B are
present in the solution then,

Adding eq (i) and (ii) we get

x A + xB = 1

Parts per million (ppm)

When a solute is present in very small amounts, its concentration is expressed in parts per million. It is
defined as the amount of the solute present in one million parts of the solution.

It may be noted that the concentration units like molarity, mole fraction etc. are preferred as they involve
the weight of the solute and solvent, which is independent of temperature. But units like, molarity,
Normality etc., involve volume of the solution, hence changes with temperature.

Methods of Expressing the Concentration of a Solution

The concentration of a solution can be expresses in a number of ways. The important methods are:

Mass/Weight Percentage or Per cent by Mass/Weight :

It is defined as the amount of solute in grams present in 100 grams of the
solution.

The ratio mass of solute to the mass of solvent is termed as mass fraction.

Thus, Mass percentage of solute = Mass fraction 100

10% solution of sugar by mass means that 10 grams of sugar is present in 100 grams of the solution,
i.e., 10 grams of sugar has been dissolved in 90 grams of water. e

Example 1:
Question:
What is the weight percentage of urea solution in which 10 gm of urea is dissolved in 90 gm water.
Solution
Weight percentage of urea = (weight of urea/ weight of solution)
= 10/(90+10)

100

100 = 10% urea solution (w/W)

Volume Percentage
It is defined as the volume of solute in mL present in 100 mL solution.

10% solution of HCl by volume means that 10 mL of liquid HCl is present in 100 mLof the solution.

Mass by Volume Percentage

It is defined as the mass of solute present in 100 mL of solution.

A 10% mass by volume solution means that 10 gm solute is present in 100 mL of solution.

Molarity

The molarity of a solution gives the number of gram molecules of the solute
present
in
one
litre
of
the
solution.

Thus, if one gram molecule of a solute is present in 1 litre of the

solution, the concentration of the solution is said to be one molar.

Units of molarity: mol L-1

Molarity of dilution:
Before dilution
M1V1

After dilution
=

M2V2

Molarity of mixing:
Let there be three samples of solution (containing same solvent and solute)
with

their

molarity

M1,

M2,

M3 and

volumes

V1,

V2,

V3 respectively.

solutions are mixed; molarity of mixed solution may be given as:

M1V1 + M2V2 + M3V3 = MR(V1 + V2 + V3)
Where MR = resultant molarity
V1 + V2 + V3 = resultant molarity

Molarity is dependent on volume; therefore, it depends on temperature.

1 M Molar solution, i.e., molarity is 1

0.5 M or M/2 Semimolar

0.1 M or M/10 Decimolar

0.01 M or M/100 Centimolar

0.001 M or M/1000 Millimolar

Example 2:
Question:
3.65 gm of HCL gas is present in 100 mL of its aqueous solution.What is the molarity?
Solution

These

Molarity =

= (3.65/36.5)

1000/100 = 1M

Molality

Molality of a solution is defined as the number of moles of solute dissolved in 1 Kg of the solvent.

Thus, if one gram molecule of a solute is present in 1 kg of the solvent, the concentration of the
solution is said to be one molal.

Units of molarity: mol kg

Molality is the most convenient method to express the concentration because it involves the mass of

-1

liquids rather than their volumes. It is also independent of the variation in temperature.

Molality and solubity are related by the following relation.

Molality = Solubility10/Molecular mass of the solute
[Solubility = Mass of solute in grams/Mass of solvent in grams 100]

Relationship Between Molality and Molarity:

Let the density of the solution be d.

Unit= g mL1

Mass of solution = V d
Mass of solute = number of moles molecular mass of solute = n mA
Mass of solvent, W = mass of solution mass of solute = V d n mA
Thus,

Where mA is molecular mass of solvent.

Example 3:
Question:
The density of a 3M sodium thiosulphate solution is 1.25 gm cm3. Calculate
i) the molalities of Na+ and S2O32 ions
ii) percentage of weight of solution

Solution
3 M Na2S2O3 (Sodium thiosulphate) solution means
3 moles Na2S2O3 is present in 1 L or, 1000 ml solution
Wt. of solute Na2S2O3 = 3158
wt. of solution = v d
= 1000 ml 1.25 gm/ml
= 1000 1.25 gm
Wt. of solvent = (1000 1.25 3 158) gm H2O
Molality = no. of moles of solute per 1000 gm solvent

= 3.865 mol kg1 solvent

Now, Na2S2O3 2Na+ +S2O3a) Hence molality of Na+ = 2 3.865 mol kg-1
= 7.73 mol kg1
Hence molality = 1 3.865 mol kg1
= 3.865 mole/kg
b) % of wt. of solution
1 L i.e. 1000 ml solution containing 3 moles Na2S2O3
1000 1.25 gm solution containing 3 158 gm Na2S2O3

= 37.92%