In chemistry, a solution is one or more substance (the solute) dissolved in another substance (the

solvent) forming a homogenous mixture. A common example would be a solid dissolving into a
liquid, like salt or sugar dissolving in water (or even gold into mercury, forming an amalgam);
but also gases may dissolve into liquids, like carbon dioxide or oxygen in water, and liquids and
gases into themselves.
The solvent is defined as the substance that exists in a greater quantity than the solute(s) in the
solution. If both solute and solvent exist in equal quantities (such as in a 50% ethanol 50% water
solution), the substance that is more often used as a solvent is designated a solvent (in this case,
water).
Solvents can be broadly classified into polar and non-polar solvents. Common polar solvents
include water and ethanol. Generally polar or ionic compounds will only dissolve in polar
solvents. An excellent test for the polarity of a liquid solvent is to rub a plastic rod, to induce
static electricity. Then hold this charged rod close to a running stream of the solvent. If the path
of the solvent deviates when the rod is held close to it, it is a polar solvent.
When a solute is dissolved into a solvent, especially polar solvents, a structure forms around it (a
process called solvation), which allows the solute-solvent interaction to remain stable.
When no more of a solute can be dissolved into a solvent, the solution is said to be saturated.
However the point at which a solution can become saturated changes significantly with different
environmental factors, such as temperature, pressure, and contamination. Raising the solubility
(such as by increasing the temperature) to dissolve more solute, and then lowering the solubility
causes a solution to become supersaturated.
In general the greater the temperature of a solvent, the more of a given solute it can dissolve.
However, some compounds exhibit reverse solubility, which means that as a solvent gets
warmer, less solute can be dissolved. Some surfactants exhibit this behaviour.
There are several ways to measure the strength of a solution; see concentration for more
information.
There are many types of solutions:
Examples of
solutions
Solute
Gas Liquid Solid
Solvent
Gas
Oxygen and other gases
in nitrogen (air)
Water vapor in air
(humidity)
The odor of a solid
results from molecules
of that solid being
dissolved in the air
Liquid
Carbon dioxide in water
(carbonated water)
Ethanol (common alcohol)
in water; various
hydrocarbons in each
other (petroleum)
Sucrose (table sugar) in
water; sodium chloride
(table salt) in water
Solid
Hydrogen dissolves rather
well in metals; platinum
has been studied as a
storage medium
Water in activated
charcoal; moisture in
wood
Steel, duralumin, other
metal alloys



Colligative properties - Definition
In chemistry, colligative properties are factors that determine how the properties of a liquid solution change depending on
the concentration of the solute in it.
The identity of the solute(s) has no importance in the consideration of colligative properties, and the degree to which their
manifestation can be observed and measured is affected only by the number of solute particles in the solution.
The four colligative properties are:
Vapor pressure: The change in vapor pressure where the solute is less volatile than the solvent is regulated by Raoult's law,
which states that the pressure is equal to the mole fraction of the solvent times the vapor pressure of pure solvent:
P=X
solvent
*P. This holds truest for ideal solutions.
Freezing point depression: The presence of a solute decreases the freezing point as compared to a pure solvent. The exact
change (T) can be calculated as Van't Hoft Factor (i) of the solute multiplied by its molality (m) multiplied by the freezing
point depression constant of the solvent (K
f
): T=iK
f
m. Alternatively, it can be calculated as the total molality of all solutes in
solution times the depression constant: T=K
f
m.
Boiling point elevation: Because of the lowered vapor pressure, the boiling point of a solution is elevated as compared to the
pure solvent. The change in boiling point (T) can be calculated in the same way as the change in freezing point, except a
different constant is used: the Van't Hoft Factor (i) of the solute multiplied by its molality multiplied by the boiling point
elevation constant of the solvent (K
b
): T=iK
b
m. T can also be calculated using the sum of all molalities: T=K
f
m.
Osmotic pressure: The presence of solute can cause pressure to be exerted across a permeable membrane according to an
equation quite similar to the ideal gas law: is the osmotic pressure, n is the number of moles of solute, R is the ideal gas
constant, T is the absolute temperature in kelvins, and V is the volume: <math>=(nRT)/V<math



Percentage solution - Definition
In biology percentage solutions are often preferred to molar ones. A 1% solution would have 1g of solute to 100ml of
solvent. This would be labelled as a weight/ volume [w/v]percentage solution. For w/w then both solvent and solute would
need to be weighed in the required ratios. Volume would accordingly be measured using a measuring cylinder, volumetric
flask, pipette or similar. Labels should show what the percentage relationships are.

Molar solution is used when referring to the molarity of a solution, which expresses its
concentration.
For example, a five molar solution of aqueous hydrochloric acid (written as "5M HCl (aq)")
means there are 5 moles of HCl per liter of solution. If the solvent is not mentionned (such as
"5M NaOH"), it is safe to assume that the solvent is water or the one most commonly used with
that solute.
For work with aqueous solutions, concentrations expressed in terms of molarity are most useful
when performing stoichiometric calculations since easily measured volumes correspond directly
to moles of chemical substances involved.
No of moles = mass in grams.
Molecular weight
Prepare 1M solution of HCL in water.
Gram molecular weight of HCL =1 plus 35.5 =36.5 grams
Therefore we will take 36.5 grams of HCL in measuring flask and make total volume 1 litre with water.
Some substance exist in solid state in the form of crystals.some of them hold water molecules as integral
part of their crystal lattice.when we prepare their molar solutions we will add molecular weight of water
molecules.
Example..prepare 1M solution of CuSO4.5H2O in water.
Molecular weight of cuso4.5h2o..64plus32plus 4x16 plus 5 x1 x2 plus 5 x
16=64plus32plus64plus80=250grams
Therefore we will take 250 gms of cuso4.5h2oin a measuring flask and make total volume 1 litre with
water.
MOLALITY
IT IS THE NUMBER OF MOLES OF THE SOLUTE DISSOLVED IN 1000 GMS OF THE SOLVENT.(BECAUSE 1000 GRAMS
OF WATER OCCUPIES 1 LITRE VOLUME ,THEREFORE THE FINAL VOLUME OF SOLUTION WILL BE MORE THAN ONE
LITRE).THIS IS W/W RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOLUTE AND SOLVENT.

Definition: a unit of concentration, defined to be equal to the number of moles of solute divided by the
number of kilograms of solvent Examples:
The solution made by dissolving 0.10 mol of KNO
3
into 200 g of H
2
O would be 0.50 molal in KNO
3
(0.50 m
KNO
3
).

Question: A 4 g sugar cube (Sucrose: C
12
H
22
O
11
) is dissolved in a 350 ml teacup of 80 C water. What is
the molality of the sugar solution?
Given: Density of water at 80 = 0.975 g/ml

Step 1 - Determine number of moles of sucrose in 4 g Solute is 4 g of C
12
H
22
O
11

C
12
H
22
O
11
= (12)(12) + (1)(22) + (16)(11)
C
12
H
22
O
11
= 144 + 22+ 176
C
12
H
22
O
11
= 342 g/mol
divide this amount into the size of the sample
4 g /(342 g/mol) = 0.0117 mol
Step 2 - Determine mass of solvent in kg.
density = mass/volume
mass = density x volume
mass = 0.975 g/ml x 350 ml
mass = 341.25 g
mass = 0.341 kg
Step 3 - Determine molality of the sugar solution.
molality = mol
solute
/ m
solvent

molality = 0.0117 mol / 0.341 kg
molality = 0.034 mol/kg
Answer:
The molality of the sugar solution is 0.034 mol/kg.


Example:
What is the molality of a solution of 10 g NaOH in 500 g water?
Solution:
10 g NaOH / (4 g NaOH / 1 mol NaOH) = 0.25 mol NaOH
500 g water x 1 kg / 1000 g = 0.50 kg water
molality = 0.25 mol / 0.50 kg
molality = 0.05 M / kg
molality = 0.50 m

Normality (N)
Normality is equal to the gram equivalent weight of a solute per liter of solution. A gram
equivalent weight or equivalent is a measure of the reactive capcity of a given molecule.
Normality is the only concentration unit that is reaction dependent.
SINCE EQUIVALENT WT= MOLECULAR WEIGHT
VALENCY
Example:
1 M sulfuric acid (H
2
SO
4
) is 2 N for acid-base reactions because each mole of sulfuric acid
provides 2 moles of H
+
ions. On the other hand, 1 M sulfuric acid is 1 N for sulfate precipitation,
since 1 mole of sulfuric acid provides 1 mole of sulfate ions.
CONVERSIONS