C.6-C.

7
In which you will learn about:
Different concentration units
Calculating concentrations

C.6 Solution Concentration

The general terms saturated and
unsaturated are not always adequate
to describe the properties of solutions
that contain different amounts of
solute.
A more precise description of the
quantity of a solute in a solution is
neededa quantitative expression of
concentration.

What is concentration?
Solution concentration refers to how
much solute is dissolved in a specific
quantity of solvent or solution.
You have already worked with one
type of solution concentration
expression: the water-solubility
curves (mass of solute dissolved in
mass of water)

Percent by Mass
Another way to express
concentration is with percent values
For example, dissolving 5g of table
salt in 95 g of water produces a 100g
solution with a 5% concentration of
salt by mass
% by mass
grams solute
% by mass =
grams total solution

ppm AND ppb

For solutions containing considerably smaller
quantities of solute (as are found in many
environmental water samples, including those
from the Snake River), concentration units of
parts per million (ppm) are sometimes useful
Just as percent (per cent) means for every
hundred, per million means for every million.
ppm = (mass solute/mass solvent) x 1 000 000
For very low concentrations, parts per billion
(ppb) is often used.
ppb = (mass solute/mass solvent) x 1 000 000
000

Sample Problem
What is the concentration of a 1%
salt solution expressed in ppm?
ANSWER: Because 1% of 1 million is
10 000, a 1% salt solution is 10 000
ppm.

C.7 Describing Solution

Concentrations
Sample Problem 1: A common
intravenous saline solution used in
medical practice contains 4.5 g NaCl
dissolved in 495.5 g sterilized distilled
water. What is the concentration of
this solution, expressed as percent by
mass?
% by mass = (4.5 g NaCl/500.0 g
solution) x 100 = 0.90%

Sample Problem 2
One teaspoon of sucrose, with a mass of 10.0 g,
is dissolved in 240.0g water. What is the
concentration of the solution expressed as grams
sucrose per 100 g solution? As percent sucrose
by mass?
Answer 1: This solution contains 10.0 g sucrose
and 240.0g water; therefore its total mass is
250.0g. Because 100.0 g solution would contain
2/5 as much solution, it would also contain 2/5 as
much solute, or 4.0 g sucrose. Thus, the
concentration is 4.0 g sucrose per 100.0 g
solution.
Answer 2: % by mass = (10.0 g sucrose/250.0 g
soln)x 100 = 4.0%

The
The MOST
MOST
IMPORTANT
IMPORTANTConcentration
Concentration of
of Solute
Solute
The amount of solute in a solution is
given by its concentration.

Molarity

(M)

moles solute
liters of solution

PROBLEM:
PROBLEM: Dissolve
Dissolve 5.00
5.00 gg of
of NiCl
NiCl226
6 H
H22O
O in
in enough
enough
water
water to
to make
make 250
250 mL
mL of
of solution.
solution. Calculate
Calculate the
the
Molarity.
Molarity.

Step 1: Calculate moles

of NiCl26H2O

1 mol
5.00 g
= 0.0210 mol
237.7 g

Step 2: Calculate Molarity

0.0210 mol
= 0.0841 M
0.250 L

[NiCl26 H2O ] = 0.0841 M

USING
USING MOLARITY
MOLARITY
What mass of oxalic acid, H2C2O4, is
required to make 250. mL of a 0.0500 M
solution?

moles = MV

Step 1: Change mL to L.
250 mL * 1L/1000mL = 0.250 L
Step 2: Calculate.
Moles = (0.0500 mol/L) (0.250 L) =
0.0125 moles
Step 3: Convert moles to grams.
(0.0125 mol)(90.00 g/mol) = 1.13 g

Preparing
Preparing Solutions
Solutions
Weigh out a solid
solute and dissolve
in a given quantity
of solvent.
Dilute a
concentrated
solution to give
one that is less
concentrated.

Calculating Concentrations
Dissolve 62.1 g (1.00 mol) of ethylene glycol in
250. g of H2O. Calculate the % by mass of
ethylene glycol.

Learning Check
A solution contains 15 g Na2CO3 and 235 g of
H2O. What is the mass % of the solution?

1) 15% Na2CO3
2) 6.4% Na2CO3
3) 6.0% Na2CO3

LEARNING CHECK:

Using mass %

How many grams of NaCl are needed to

prepare 250 g of a 10.0% (by mass) NaCl
solution?

Learning Check

How many grams of NaOH are

required to prepare 400. mL of 3.0
M NaOH solution?
1) 12 g
2) 48 g
3) 300 g

Learning Check
Determine the grams of solute
needed to prepare these solutions:
A) 0.289 liters of a 0.00300 M
Cu(NO3)2 solution
B) 16.00 milliliters of a 5.90-molar
Pb(NO3)2 solution
C) 508 mL of a 2.75 M sodium
fluoride solution