Republic of the Philippines Activity No.

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Department of Education
Region VI-Division of Iloilo
Pavia National High School
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
General Chemistry 2

Name:______________________________ Date:______________ Strand: _____________________

Experiment: Colligative Properties, Do it at Home Lab

Thomas Cahill and John Wang

Objective:
The objective of this experiment is to determine the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation of
water by addition of sodium chloride, and to explore the osmosis process pass through the membrane of deshelled
un-cooked eggs.

Introduction:

The addition of salt to water lowers the freezing point of water. This is the mechanism by which roads are cleared
of ice in the winter in snowy climates. This is also the same trick used in making home-made ice cream since ice
cream solidifies below 0C. Many salts and solutes will change the properties of the solvent in which they are
dissolved. This phenomenon is called colligative properties of a solution. Most often, colligative properties take the
form of lowering the freezing point of the solvent or raising the boiling point of the solvent. One of the features of
colligative properties is that the change in freezing/boiling points is often independent of the exact solute but rather
the moles of the solute.

In this experiment, we will determine the freezing point of water without and with different amount of salt.
The objective is to demonstrate the freezing point depression of water with the addition of known amounts of salt.
The second part of the experiment is to observe the osmosis process of eggs. The size of an egg depends on the
solution it is placed in. If eggs are placed in a hypertonic solution, they will shrink in size. If eggs are placed in a
hypotonic solution, they will expand in size.

The decrease in freezing point, ΔTf (freezing point depression) for a near ideal solution can be described by the
equation:

ΔTf = i Kf · m

Where i is the van’t Hoff factor, which is the number of particles a substance becomes when it dissolves. We use
the predicted i, which is based on the composition of the strong electrolytes. For example, the predicted i for NaCl
is 2, whereas the predicted i for CaCl2 will be 3, because NaCl dissociates into two ions, whereas CaCl2 dissociates
into three ions. The van’t Hoff factor, i, may be less than one if the solute particle aggregate to form complex as
some proteins do.

Kf is the molal freezing point depression constant of the solvent with units °C · kg solvent/mole solute. m is the
molal concentration of the solute dissolved in the solvent expressed as moles of solute/kg solvent.

The freezing point of the solution Tf = freezing point of pure solvent – ΔTf

At the freezing point of any substance, an equilibrium exists in which both liquid and solid are present.

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 liquid ⇄ solid

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The temperature at which this equilibrium exists is the freezing point of the substance. Sometimes this
temperature is difficult to determine, so the use of cooling curves is required. To construct a cooling
curve, one would start with their sample, pure solvent or solution, well above its freezing point, then allow
it to cool. As the sample cools the temperature of the sample is monitored as a function of time. As the
sample begins to solidify, the change in temperature will slow, and at equilibrium, the temperature will be
ideally constant until all the sample has solidified. A graph is made by plotting the temperature vs. time. In
this experiment, 5 consecutive readings indicate the freezing point for the solution.

Similarly, the increase in boiling point, ΔTb (boiling point elevation) for a near ideal solution can be
described by the equation:

ΔTb = i Kb · m

Where i is the van’t Hoff factor, K b is the molal boiling point elevation constant of the solvent with units
°C · kg solvent/mole solute. m is the molal concentration of the solute dissolved in the solvent
expressed as moles of solute/kg solvent.

The boiling point of the solution Tb = boiling point of pure solvent + ΔTb

Some substances form semipermeable membranes, allowing some smaller particles to pass through
but blocking larger particles. The net movement of solvent molecules from solution of low to high
concentration of solute across a semipermeable membrane is osmosis. The applied pressure to stop it is
osmotic pressure, 

 = iMRT

Where i is the van’t Hoff factor, M is the molarity of the solute substance. R is the gas law constant, T is

temperature in Kelvin. Osmotic pressure is a colligative property.

If two solutions separated by a semipermeable membrane have the same osmotic pressure, no osmosis
will occur. Isotonic solutions have same osmotic pressure; solvent passes the membrane at the same rate
both ways. Hypotonic solutions have lower osmotic pressure; solvent will leave this solution at a higher
rate than it enters with. Solute concentration is low in hypotonic solutions. Hypertonic solutions have
higher osmotic pressure; solvent will enter this solution at a higher rate than it leaves with. Solute
concentration is high in hypertonic solutions.

Red blood cells have semipermeable membranes. If stored in a hypertonic solution, they will shrivel as
water leaves the cell; this is called crenation. If stored in a hypotonic solution, they will grow until they
burst; this is called hemolysis. Intravenous (IV) solutions MUST be isotonic to blood.

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Procedures:

Part-A Freezing point depression:

1. Place about 1 cup of ice in a cup (coffee cup or some other plastic cup).
2. Put ~200 mL of tap water in the cup with the ice.
3. Start your timer.
4. Record the temperature for every 30 seconds in Data Table 1.
5. Stir the solution continuously to keep the temperature even throughout the cup.
6. When measuring the temperature, keep the thermometer near the ice in the cup, remembering
that ice floats in water.
7. Record the temperature at each time point (every 30 seconds) in Data Table 1.
8. After recording is completed (when the readings remain consistent for at least 5 consecutive
readings), empty the water and ice into a sink.
9. Dry the cup completely. Repeat step 1 and 2.
10. Pour 1.0 teaspoon (tsp) of table salt into the cup over the ice and stir.
11. Repeat step 3 to 9.
12. Rinse the cup with tap water three times, pouring out the rinse water each time.
13. Dry the cup completely. Repeat step 1 and 2.
14. Pour 2.0 teaspoon (tsp) of table salt into the cup over the ice and stir.
15. Repeat step 3 to 8.
16. Make a graph of your data for all three columns of Data Table 1. Submit your graph with your
lab report.
a. Plot temperature on the y-axis and time on the x-axis.
b. The 5 consecutive readings indicate the freezing point for the solution
Part-B Boiling Point Elevation:

1. Pour 100 mL of water into a small cooking pot.

2. Turn on you stove.
3. When the water is boiling, measure the temperature of the boiling water by hanging the
thermometer in the middle of the water for ~2 minutes., or until the reading of the thermometer is
steady. Make sure the thermometer does not touch the bottom or side of the pot. You may want
to wear an oven glove if you hold the thermometer in your hand when measuring the temperature.
4. Record the boiling point in data table 2.
5. Let the water cool to none boiling.
6. Add 5.0 tsp of table salt into the pot and stir to make sure the salt dissolves.
7. Repeat step 2, 3, and 4.
8. Let the solution cool to none boiling.
9. Add 5.0 more tsp of table salt into the pot and stir to make sure the salt dissolves. Together with
the 5.0 tsp salt from step-6, there are 10.0 tsp salt in the solution now.

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 10. Turn on you stove.
11. Repeat step 2, 3, and 4.
12. Discard the salt-water in the sink. Be careful with the hot boiling water!

Data Table-1 Temperature and time.

Time (second) Temp (oC) of Tap Temp (oC) of Temp (oC) of

water Solution (1.0 tsp Solution (2.0 tsp
NaCl) NaCl)
30

60

90

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

330

360

390

420

450

480

Table-2 Boling point

Tap Water Solution with 5.0 tsp of Solution with 10.0 tsp of
NaCl NaCl
Boling Point
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 (oC))

 Submit your graph with your lab report for part-A by group of 5.

 Please use graphing papers.

 Submit the pictures as a proof that you have conducted the experiment. Each
member must be present in the documentation of the actual activity.

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