• Home
  • Chemistry
  • Astronomy
  • Energy
  • Nature
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Electronics
  • Calculating Freezing & Boiling Points of NaCl Solutions: A Chemistry Guide
    The freezing point depression and boiling point elevation of a solution are colligative properties, which depend on the number of particles in solution, not on their chemical nature. The freezing point depression and boiling point elevation of a solution are given by the following equations:

    $\Delta T_f= K_f m$

    $\Delta T_b=K_b m$

    where $\Delta T_f$ is the freezing point depression, $\Delta T_b$ is the boiling point elevation, $K_f$ is the freezing point depression constant for the solvent ($1.86^\circ C/m$ for water), $K_b$ is the boiling point elevation constant for the solvent ($0.512^\circ C/m$ for water) and $m$ is the molality of the solution.

    To calculate the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation of a 21.2 g NaCl in 135mL water solution, we first need to calculate the molality of the solution.

    $m=\frac {moles \ of \ NaCl}{kg \ of \ water}$

    First we need to convert grams of NaCl to mols:

    $M NaCl = \frac{ 21.2 \ g}{58.44 g/mol} = 0.363 mol$

    The mass in Kg of the solvent (water) is:

    $$135 \ g \ H_2 O \times \frac{1 Kg}{1000 \ g} = 0.135 Kg$$

    Therefore the molality is:

    $$m= \frac{0.363 \ mol}{0.135 \ Kg}= 2.69 $$

    Now we can calculate the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation:

    $\Delta T_f= K_f m = (1.86 ^\circ C/m) (2.69 m) = 5.006^\circ C$

    $\Delta T_b=K_b m = (0.512 ^\circ C/m) (2.69 m) = 1.38^\circ C$

    Finally we calculate the new freezing and boiling points:

    Freezing point: $0^\circ C - 5.006^\circ C$ \(=-5.006 ^oC \)

    Boiling point: $100^\circ C + 1.38^\circ C$ \(=101.38 ^oC \)

    Science Discoveries © www.scienceaq.com