Osmotic Pressure and van’t Hoff Factor Practice Sheets

These flashcards cover key vocabulary, definitions, and concepts related to osmotic pressure, the van’t Hoff factor, and other colligative properties as discussed in the lecture notes.

Osmotic Pressure ($\pi$)

The pressure exerted by a solution to prevent the inward flow of its pure solvent across a semipermeable membrane.

van’t Hoff factor ($i$)

A factor used to account for the extent of ionization or association of solute particles in a solution, impacting its colligative properties.

Semipermeable Membrane

A type of biological or synthetic membrane that allows certain molecules or ions to pass through it by osmosis, such as cellophane paper mentioned in the experiments.

Isotonic Solutions

Two solutions that have the same osmotic pressure at the same temperature, meaning no net osmosis occurs between them.

Osmosis

The phenomenon involving the gradual flow of pure solvent into a solution (or from a dilute to a concentrated solution) through a semipermeable membrane until levels become stationary.

Dimerisation

The association of two molecules of a substance, such as benzoic ($C_6H_5COOH$) acid in benzene, which results in a molecular mass twice the normal value.

Elevation in Boiling Point ($\Delta T_b$)

A colligative property describing the increase in the boiling temperature of a solvent when a non-volatile solute is added.

Depression in Freezing Point ($\Delta T_f$)

A colligative property describing the decrease in the freezing temperature of a solvent upon the addition of a solute.

Osmolarity

The concentration of a solution expressed as the total number of solute particles per litre.

Hypoglycemia

A medical condition involving severe low blood sugar that requires the immediate infusion of intravenous glucose.

Colligative Properties

Properties of solutions, such as osmotic pressure or freezing point depression, that depend only on the number of solute particles and not their identity.

Reverse Osmosis

The phenomenon that occurs when a pressure greater than the osmotic pressure is applied to the solution side, forcing solvent to flow from the solution to the pure solvent.

$$K_b$$

The molal boiling point elevation constant, used to calculate the change in boiling point for a given molality.

$$K_f$$

The molal freezing point depression constant (cryoscopic constant), used to calculate how much a solute lowers the freezing point of a solvent.

Non-volatile Solute

A substance that does not readily evaporate into a gas under existing conditions and contributes to the lowering of vapor pressure in a solution.