Molarity, Dilution, and pH

Main Idea: Solution concentrations are

measured in molarity. Dilution is a useful
technique for creating a new solution from a
stock solution. pH is a measure of the
concentration of hydronium ions in a solution.

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 Molarity Review
• One of the most common units of solution
concentration is molarity.
• Molarity (M) is the number of moles of solute per
liter of solution.
• Molarity is also known as molar concentration,
and the unit M is read as “molar.”
• A liter of solution containing 1 mol of solute is a
1M solution, which is read as a “one-molar”
solution.
• A liter of solution containing 0.1 mol of solute is a
0.1 M solution.
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 Molarity Equation
• To calculate a solution’s molarity, you must
know the volume of the solution in liters and
the amount of dissolved solute in moles.

• Molarity (M) = moles of solute

liters of solution

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 Molarity Example
A 100.5-mL intravenous (IV) solution contains 5.10 g of
glucose (C6H12O6). What is the molarity of the solution?
The molar mass of glucose is 180.16 g/mol.
SOLUTION:
1) Calculate the number of moles of C6H12O6 by dividing
mass over molar mass = 0.0283 mol C6H12O6
2) Convert the volume of H2O to liters by dividing
volume by 1000 = 0.1005 L
3) Solve for molarity by dividing moles by liters = 0.282
M

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 Preparing Molar Solutions
• Now that you know how to calculate the molarity of a
solution, how would you prepare one in the
laboratory?
• STEP 1: Calculate the mass of the solute needed using
the molarity definition and accounting for the desired
concentration and volume.
• STEP 2: The mass of the solute is measured on a
balance.
• STEP 3: The solute is placed in a volumetric flask of the
correct volume.
• STEP 4: Distilled water is added to the flask to bring the
solution level up to the calibration mark.

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http://www.ltcconline.net/stevenson/2008CHM101Fall/CHM101LectureNotes20081022.htm

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 Diluting Molar Solutions
• In the laboratory, you might use concentrated
solutions of standard molarities, called stock
solutions.
– For example, concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl) is
12 M.
• You can prepare a less-concentrated solution by
diluting the stock solution with additional
solvent.
– Dilution is used when a specific concentration is
needed and the starting material is already in the
form of a solution (i.e., acids).

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PROBLEM: You have 50.0 mL of 3.0 M
NaOH and you want 0.50 M NaOH. What
do you do?

Add water to the 3.0 M solution to lower its

concentration to 0.50 M
Dilute the solution!

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PROBLEM: You have 50.0 mL of 3.0 M NaOH
and you want 0.50 M NaOH. What do you do?

But how much water

do we add?

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PROBLEM: You have 50.0 mL of 3.0 M NaOH
and you want 0.50 M NaOH. What do you do?

How much water is added?

The important point is that --->

moles of NaOH in ORIGINAL solution =

moles of NaOH in FINAL solution

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PROBLEM: You have 50.0 mL of 3.0 M NaOH and you
want 0.50 M NaOH. What do you do?

Amount of NaOH in original solution =

M•V =
(3.0 mol/L)(0.050 L) = 0.15 mol NaOH
Amount of NaOH in final solution must also =
0.15 mol NaOH
Volume of final solution =
(0.15 mol NaOH) / (0.50 M) = 0.30 L
or 300 mL

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PROBLEM: You have 50.0 mL of 3.0 M NaOH
and you want 0.50 M NaOH. What do you do?

Conclusion:
add 250 mL of
water to 50.0
mL of 3.0 M
NaOH to make
300 mL of
0.50 M NaOH.

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 Preparing Solutions by
Dilution

A shortcut

M1 • V1 = M2 • V2

Where M represents molarity and V

represents volume. The 1s are for
the stock solution and the 2s are for
the solution you are trying to create.
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The pH scale is a way of
expressing the strength of
acids and bases. Instead of
using very small numbers,
we just use the NEGATIVE
power of 10 on the Molarity
of the H+ (or OH-) ion.

Under 7 = acid
7 = neutral
Over 7 = base
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pH of Common Substances

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 Calculating the pH
pH = - log [H+]
(The [ ] means Molarity)
Example: If [H+] = 1 X 10-10
pH = - log 1 X 10-10
pH = - (- 10)
pH = 10
Example: If [H+] = 1.8 X 10-5
pH = - log 1.8 X 10-5
pH = - (- 4.74)
pH = 4.74
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 pH calculations – Solving for
H+
If the pH of Coke is 3.12, [H+] = ???
Because pH = - log [H+] then
- pH = log [H+]
Take antilog (10x) of both
sides and get
10-pH = [H+]
[H+] = 10-3.12 = 7.6 x 10-4 M
*** to find antilog on your calculator, look for “Shift” or “2nd function” and
then the log button
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pH calculations – Solving for H+
• A solution has a pH of 8.5. What is the
Molarity of hydrogen ions in the solution?

pH = - log [H+]
8.5 = - log [H+]
-8.5 = log [H+]
Antilog -8.5 = antilog (log [H+])
10-8.5 = [H+]
3.16 X 10-9 = [H+]
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 More About Water
H2O can function as both an ACID and a
BASE.
In pure water there can be
AUTOIONIZATION

Equilibrium constant for water = Kw

Kw = [H3O+] [OH-] = 1.00 x 10-14 at 25 oC
 More About Water
Autoionization OH-

H3O+

Kw = [H3O+] [OH-] = 1.00 x 10-14 at 25 oC

In a neutral solution [H3O+] = [OH-]
so Kw = [H3O+]2 = [OH-]2
and so [H3O+] = [OH-] = 1.00 x 10-7 M
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 pOH
• Since acids and bases are opposites, pH
and pOH are opposites!
• pOH does not really exist, but it is
useful for changing bases to pH.
• pOH looks at the perspective of a base
pOH = - log [OH-]
Since pH and pOH are on opposite ends,
pH + pOH = 14

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pH [H+] [OH-] pOH
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 [H3O+], [OH-] and pH
What is the pH of the
0.0010 M NaOH solution?
[OH-] = 0.0010 (or 1.0 X 10-3 M)
pOH = - log 0.0010
pOH = 3
pH = 14 – 3 = 11

OR Kw = [H3O+] [OH-]
[H3O+] = 1.0 x 10-11 M
pH = - log (1.0 x 10-11) = 11.00
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 [OH-]

[H+] pOH

pH
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 HOMEWORK
1) How much calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2], in
grams, is needed to produce 1.5 L of a 0.25 M
solution?
2) What volume of a 3.00M KI stock solution would
you use to make 0.300 L of a 1.25 M KI solution?
3) How many mL of a 5.0 M H2SO4 stock solution
would you need to prepare 100.0 mL of 0.25 M
H2SO4?
4) If 0.50 L of 5.00 M stock solution is diluted to
make 2.0 L of solution, how much HCl, in grams,
is in the solution?
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 HOMEWORK
5) Calculate the pH of solutions having the following
ion concentrations at 298 K.
a) [H+] = 1.0 x 10-2 M b) [H+] = 3.0 x 10-6 M
6) Calculate the pH of a solution having [OH-] = 8.2 x
10-6 M.
7) Calculate pH and pOH for an aqueous solution
containing 1.0 x 10-3 mol of HCl dissolved in 5.0 L
of solution.
8) Calculate the [H+] and [OH-] in a sample of
seawater with a pOH = 5.60.

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