10/19/23, 6:28 PM Calculating Molarity and Molality Concentration - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.

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Calculating Molarity and Molality Concentration

Contributors: Shawn Millinder, Amy Meyers

What is molarity? What is molality? Compare molarity vs molality by viewing molality and molarity formulas, how
to calculate molarity and molality, and examples.

Table of Contents

 What is Molality?

 Molarity vs Molality

 Lesson Summary

What is Molarity?
Molarity is an expression of solute concentration that uses moles of solute and liters of solution.

The solute is the substance that is dissolved in a solution.

The solvent is the component of a solution that dissolves the solute.

The solution results from the dissolving of the solute in the solvent.

The mole is a quantity in International System of Units (SI) that describes the amount of a substance.

Molarity Formula
The molarity formula is defined as the moles (mol) of a solute in a liter (L) of solution,

The moles of a substance can be calculated

from the grams of a substance.

Both the molecular formula and the molar

mass of the substance are required.
the molarity formula requires moles of solute and
The grams of any substance are converted to liters of solution
moles by dividing the mass in grams by the
molar mass (MM),

grams/MM= mole (mol).

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The molar mass is determined by summing the atomic masses of each element in the molecular
formula.

The atomic masses can be found on a periodic table.

The number of atoms in the molecular formula must be taken into account when determining molar
mass.
For example, if the molecular formula is N2 O5, then the molar mass of this substance is,

Molecular formula N 2 O5

Total mass of N (2)14.01 = 28.02 g/mol

Total mass of O (5)16.00 = 90.00 g/mol

Molar mass of N2 O5 28.02 + 90.00 = 108.02 g/mol

Molarity Examples
Successful problem solving in chemistry occurs when a structured approach is taken. It is important
to

carefully read the problem,

identify the information that is stated and needed,

use the correct formula,

record the steps needed to obtain a solution (called a solution map),

enter numbers into your calculator correctly, and

express the answer with the correct number of significant figures (sig figs).

Problem 1. Calculate the molarity (M) of a solution that contains 0.225 moles (mol) of sodium
chloride in a volume of 2.80 liters (L).

solution map: substitute the stated information into the molarity formula

solute sodium chloride

moles of solute 0.225 moles (3 sig figs)

liters of solution 2.80 moles (3 sig figs)

molarity calculation Molarity (M) = 0.225 moles / 2.80 liters = 0.080357 = 0.0804 M (3 sig figs)

The moles of sodium chloride and the volume of the solution are stated and are directly
substituted into the molarity formula.

The answer is expressed with three significant figures (sig figs) as 0.0804 molar (M).

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Problem 2. Calculate the molarity (M) of a solution that contains 158 grams (g) of sodium chloride in
a volume of 2.50 liters (L).

solution map: convert grams of solute to moles of solute, substitute moles of solute and liters of
solution into the molarity formula

solute, formula sodium chloride, NaCl

molar mass of solute 22.99 + 35.45 = 58.44 g/mole (4 sig figs)

moles of solute 158 grams / 58.44 grams/mole = 2.70 moles (3 sig figs)

liters of solution 2.50 liters (3 sig figs)

molarity calculation Molarity (M) = 2.70 moles / 2.50 liters = 1.08 M (3 sig figs)

Both the molecular formula and the molar mass of sodium chloride are needed for this type of
problem. The formula for sodium chloride is NaCl and its molar mass is calculated from the atomic
masses on a periodic table.

Problem 3. Calculate the molarity (M) of a solution that contains 298 grams (g) of sodium chloride in
a volume of 175 milliliters (mL).

solution map: calculate the moles of solute, convert mL to L, substitute the information into the
molarity formula

solute, formula sodium chloride, NaCl

molar mass of solute 58.44 grams / mole (4 sig figs)

moles of solute 298 grams / 58.44 g/mole = 5.10 moles (3 sig figs)

liters of solution 175 milliliters / 1000 milliliters/liter = 0.175 liters

molarity calculation 5.10 moles / 0.175 liters = 29.1 M (3 sig figs)

3

1 cubic centimeter (cm3) = 1 milliliter (mL)

1 liter (L) = 1000 milliliter (mL).

Since cubic centimeters (cm3) and milliliters (mL) are equivalent, the units are simply changed if volume
is stated in cubic centimeter3.

Since milliliters are smaller units than liters, the stated mL volume is divided by 1000 to obtain liters.

What is Molality?
Molality (m) is an expression of solute concentration that uses moles of the solute and kilograms
of solvent.

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Using the weight of the solvent eliminates any volume changes that can occur with a temperature
change. Temperature changes can occur when using techniques like boiling point elevation or freezing
point depression.

Molality Formula
The molality (m) of a solution is expressed as the moles (mol) of a solute in a kilogram (kg) of
solvent,

The units of the molality expression are mol/kg.

The moles of solute can be stated in the problem or

calculated from the molecular formula and molar
mass.
the molality formula requires moles of solute and
The mass of the solvent is determined and then
kilograms of solvent expressed in kilograms using the relationship,

1 kilogram (kg) = 1000 grams (g).

Molality Examples
Problem 1. Calculate the molality (m) of a solution that contains 298 grams (g) of sodium chloride in
a solvent that weighs 1.20 kilograms (kg).

solution map: calculate the moles of solute, substitute the information into the molarity formula

solute, formula sodium chloride, NaCl

molar mass of solute 58.44 grams / mole (4 sig figs)

moles of solute 5.10 moles (3 sig figs)

mass of solution 1.20 kilograms (3 sig figs)

molality calculation 5.10 moles / 1.20 kilograms = 4.25 m (3 sig figs)

Video Transcript

Concentration
You have learned about solutions and that they are homogeneous mixtures of solutes in solvents.
Solutions can have different amounts of solutes in solvents, which is known as concentration.
Concentration is the amount of a substance in a given quantity of a solution.

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10/19/23, 6:28 PM Calculating Molarity and Molality Concentration - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

Molarity and molality are both ways to express concentration. Molarity is abbreviated as 'M' and is
the moles of solute per liter of solution.
M = mol solute / L solution.
Molarity is usually used in stoichiometric calculations involving solutions.

Molality is abbreviated as 'm' and is moles of solute per kilogram of solvent.

m = mol solute / kg solvent.

Molarity
When chemists are working in the lab, they
often find it easier to deal with moles of a solute
rather than the mass. Moles lets them know
how many particles of the solute they have, and
when they are working with balanced
equations, knowing the exact number is easier
for them. Calculating the molarity is easy. If you
know the moles of solute and the amount of
solution, you just divide them. The equation for calculating molarity

For example, if you have 0.5 moles of NaCl in

1.5 L of H2 O, the molarity is 0.5 / 1.5 L. M = 0.33 M.

If you don't know the moles but you have the mass, you can still figure out the molarity by using
the mole ratio.

Pretend you have 400 g of NaCl in 1.5 L of H2 O.

From the periodic table, you know that one mole of NaCl has a mass of 58.5 g.

Easy, right?

Here's a second example:

You have 0.8 L of a 0.4 M HCl solution. How many moles of HCl does the solution contain?

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Molarity = mol solute / L solution

0.4 M = mole HCl / 0.8 L
0.32 = moles of HCl

Since you know the moles of HCl, can you determine the grams of HCl in that solution? Sure you
can. From the periodic table, you know that one mole of HCl has a molar mass of 36.5 g.

If you worked in a lab and your supervisor asked you to prepare one liter of 0.5 molar solution of
NaCl, how would you go about doing that? All you would have to do is figure out how many grams
of NaCl you need to add.

So, you would add 29.25 g NaCl to one liter of solution, right? Not quite. If you did this, the amount
of solute you added would increase the volume of the solution. What you do instead is add the
29.25 g NaCl to about half a liter of the solvent in a one-liter volumetric flask. Let all of the solvent
dissolve, then fill up the volumetric flask the rest of the way with the solvent until you just reach
one liter. This assures that you have exactly a 0.5 M solution of NaCl.

Molality
Molality is moles of solute per kilogram of
solvent. Let's practice doing a calculation of
molality.

Dissolve 500 g of sugar C12 H22 O11 in 6 kg of

water.
First, change the grams of sugar to moles.
To get the correct volume, you need to add your element to half of the
solution and let it dissolve.

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Example: What is the molality of a solution that has a solute mass of 100 g with a mole ratio of 10 g
/ 1 mole and a solvent mass of 12.2 g?

Molality = moles of solute / kg solvent

Lesson Summary
Concentration is often measured in molarity and molality. Molarity is abbreviated as 'M' and is the
moles of solute per liter of solution.
M = mol solute / L solution.
Molarity is usually used in stoichiometric calculations involving solutions.

Molality is abbreviated as 'm' and is moles of solute per kilogram of solvent.

m = mol solute / kg solvent.
Molality is usually used in calculations that involve a boiling point and freezing point.

Learning Outcomes
Following your exploration of this lesson, you might be able to:

Define molarity and molality

Explain when molarity is typically used and when molality is typically used

Determine unknown variables by solving molarity and molality equations

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10/19/23, 6:28 PM Calculating Molarity and Molality Concentration - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What are molecularity and molality?

Both terms express the moles of solute concentration.

Molarity expresses the moles of solute concentration in the liters of solution.

Molality expresses the moles of solute concentration per the weight of the solvent.

What is molarity defined as?

Molarity (M) is defined as the moles of solute (mol) per the liter (L) volume of solution. The
molarity formula is:

Molarity (M) = moles of solute / liter of solution.

What is molarity equal to?

Molarity (M) is equal to the moles of solute (mol) divided by the liters (L) of solution:

Molarity (M) = moles of solute / L of solution.

How do I calculate molarity?

Use the molarity formula

Molarity = moles of solute/liters of solution

Calculate both quantities if they are not stated in the problem

Substitute the values into the formula and into your calculator

Express the answer with the correct number of significant figures

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