Boiling Point Elevation Formula:
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The boiling point elevation formula calculates the increase in boiling point when a non-volatile solute is added to a solvent. It's based on the colligative properties of solutions and is given by \( T_b = T_0 + i K_b m \).
The calculator uses the boiling point elevation formula:
Where:
Explanation: The formula shows how the boiling point increases proportionally to the molality of the solution and the van't Hoff factor, which accounts for solute dissociation.
Details: Calculating boiling point elevation is important in various chemical and industrial processes, including determining molecular weights of solutes, designing distillation processes, and understanding the behavior of solutions.
Tips: Enter the pure solvent boiling point in °C, van't Hoff factor (typically 1 for non-electrolytes, >1 for electrolytes), ebullioscopic constant (specific to each solvent), and molality in mol/kg. All values must be valid positive numbers.
Q1: What is the van't Hoff factor?
A: The van't Hoff factor (i) represents the number of particles a solute dissociates into in solution. For non-electrolytes, i = 1; for strong electrolytes, i equals the number of ions produced.
Q2: What are typical values for K_b?
A: Common values include 0.512 °C·kg/mol for water, 2.53 °C·kg/mol for benzene, and 3.63 °C·kg/mol for acetic acid. The constant is specific to each solvent.
Q3: Why does boiling point elevation occur?
A: Adding solute particles lowers the vapor pressure of the solvent, requiring a higher temperature to reach atmospheric pressure and boil.
Q4: Are there limitations to this formula?
A: The formula works best for dilute solutions. For concentrated solutions, deviations may occur due to non-ideal behavior and ion pairing effects.
Q5: How is this different from freezing point depression?
A: Both are colligative properties, but boiling point elevation measures the increase in boiling point while freezing point depression measures the decrease in freezing point when solute is added.