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Sydney Kim
CHEM 145 Au 18: Honors Chemistry
06 November 18
Lab Report #4: Colligative Properties
Introduction
The purpose of this experiment was to quantify the boiling point elevation and freezing
point depression and investigate the discrepancy between the measured and actual values. The
freezing point depression was also used to estimate the molecular weight of a substance. This
was achieved by measuring the temperature of a variety of substances in their pure form and as
mixtures during a phase change.
Boiling point elevation and freezing point depression are both colligative properties, so
they both rely more on the amount of solute molecules rather than the properties of the solute
itself. This is because the solute molecules occupy space that solvent molecules would have
occupied as a pure substance, which leads to a lower vapor pressure (and therefore high boiling
point) and gets in the way of bond formation between solvent molecules (lowers freezing point).
Therefore, colligative properties are also influenced by the number of dissociated ions in a
solution, since each ion behaves as one molecule. The van’t Hoff factor accounts for this
phenomenon.
This lab demonstrates how boiling point elevation and freezing point depression are
colligative properties that rely on the amount of solute dissolved in solution, but it also
demonstrates that the expected values for these colligative properties can differ from
experimental values due to partial dissolving of solute.

Procedure
The procedure was followed exactly from the Lab Manual, but in making a mixture of
lauric and benzoic acid, the lauric acid was not melted before mixing in the benzoic acid; the
compounds were mixed and then the mixture was melted. Also, Part II was not completed due to
a lack of time, so data from Thomas Phung and Joe Redmon was used.

Observations
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It was observed that in freezing the lauric acid and the lauric and benzoic acid mixture,
the top layer of the liquid solidified first as a thick white substance on the inside of the test tube
and on the temperature probe. The liquid appeared to be slightly cloudy and more viscous than
right after it was melted. This phenomenon was observed around the time that the temperature of
the acid started to plateau, or level out.
In Part II of the experiment, it was observed that there was a spike in temperature of
approximately 2°C after some of the sodium acetate froze at around -5°C. It was also observed
that the brine solution turned to slush at around -5°C and could not drop below -8°C during the
span of the experiment. Lastly, the solution was observed to freeze from the bottom up. These
observations were made by Thomas Phung and Joe Redmon.
Data

Deionized Glucose Solution Sodium Chloride Calcium Chloride

Water (C6H12O6) Solution (NaCl) Solution (CaCl2)

Boiling Point 97.8 98.3 98.6 98.4

(°C)

Molality - 1.0 1.0 1.0

(mol/kg)
Table 1: Boiling Point of Water and Solutions of C6H12O6, NaCl, and CaCl2

Graph 1: The Effect of Time on Temperature of C2H3NaO2 (by Thomas Phung and Joe Redmon)
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Graph 2: The Effect of Time on Temperature of Lauric Acid

Graph 3: The Effect of Time on Temperature of Lauric and Benzoic Acid Mixture

Calculations
1.
a. The theoretical boiling point elevations of glucose solution, sodium chloride
solution, and calcium chloride solution were calculated to be 0.512 K, 1.02 K, and
1.54 K, respectively.
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b. The percent difference between measured and theoretical values of glucose

solution, sodium chloride solution, and calcium chloride solution were calculated
to be 2.34%, 21.9%, and 60.9%, respectively.

2.
a. Refer to Graph 1 for a plot of the data for freezing point depression in Part II.
Something surprising about the plot is that the temperature of the sodium acetate
spikes from -5.1°C to -1.8°C after some of the substance freezes. After this point,
the temperature continues to keep dropping in a linear pattern. An explanation for
this phenomenon is that the freezing of the sodium acetate released heat, which
raised the temperature of the system. After freezing, the sodium acetate was able
to lose heat linearly.
b. The theoretical freezing point depression of the sodium acetate solution was
calculated to be -3.72 K. The experimental value of the freezing point depression
was found to be -5.84 K, which yielded a percent error of 57.0% between the
theoretical and experimental values.
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3.
a. Refer to Graph 2 and Graph 3 for plots of the data for pure lauric acid and the
benzoic/lauric acid solution, respectively. The freezing point of pure lauric acid
was found to be 44°C and the freezing point of the benzoic/lauric acid solution
was found to be 40°C.

b. The freezing point depression was calculated to be 4°C, or 4 K.

c. The molar mass of benzoic acid was calculated to be 108.33 g/mol. The actual
molar mass of benzoic acid is 122.12 g/mol, which is 13.79 g/mol greater than the
experimental value. The percent error of the calculated value was found to be
11.3%.
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4.
a. In general, most measured values were close to theoretical values but there was a
trend of increasing percent error as the van’t Hoff factor increased. As mentioned
in the introduction, the van’t Hoff factor accounts for the dissociation of ionic
compounds into ions, but in practice it assumes that all ionic compounds
dissociate completely in solution. In experiments, ionic compounds do not always
dissociate completely in solution, so this discrepancy may account for the
increasing percent error as the van’t Hoff factor increases.
b. It was necessary to measure the boiling and freezing point of pure water even
though they are commonly known values is because the boiling and freezing point
change at different atmospheric pressures, and the lab cannot be assumed to have
been conducted at exactly standard pressure, 1 atm.
c. Brine baths were used in these experiments because the temperatures achieved in
this experiment often were outside the range of liquid water (lower than 0°C, for
example) and if the water froze during the experiment the system being measured
would not be evenly cooled and the equipment used in the experiment could also
be at risk of damaged as the water expanded. Brine, compared to water, has a
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higher boiling point and lower freezing point so it would not freeze under 0°C
during the experiment.
d. Assuming standard conditions, the boiling and freezing points of the brine
solution used in this experiment were calculated to be 105°C and -18.2°C,
respectively.

Results

Boiling Point Glucose Solution Sodium Chloride Calcium Chloride

Elevation (BPE)

Theoretical BPE (K) 0.512 1.02 1.54

Measured BPE (K) 0.5 0.8 0.6

Percent Difference 2.34% 21.9% 60.9%

Table 2: Theoretical and Measured Boiling Point Elevation of Compounds and Percent Error

Freezing Point Depression (FPD) Sodium Acetate

Theoretical FPD (K) -3.72

Measured FPD (K) -5.84

Percent Difference 57.0%

Table 3: Theoretical and Measured Freezing Point Depression of C2H3NaO2 and Percent Error

Benzoic/Lauric Acid Solution

Measured Freezing Point Depression (K) -4.95

Calculated Molar Mass of Benzoic Acid 96.3

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(g/mol)

Actual Molar Mass of Benzoic Acid (g/mol) 122.12

Percent Error 21.1%

Table 4: Measured Freezing Point Depression, Calculated Molar Mass of Benzoic Acid, and
Percent Error Compared to Actual Molar Mass of Benzoic Acid

In this experiment, the boiling point elevation of glucose solution, sodium chloride
solution, and calcium chloride solution were calculated to be 0.5, 0.8, and 0.6 K, respectively.
The percent difference between these calculated values and the theoretical boiling point
elevations were 2.34%, 21.9%, and 60.9% for glucose, sodium chloride, and calcium chloride,
respectively. The freezing point depression of aqueous sodium acetate was calculated to be -5.84
K. Lastly, the freezing point depression for benzoic and lauric acid solution was -4.5 K, and the
molar mass of benzoic acid found in relation to this value was 96.3 g/mol.

Discussion
All calculations in this experiment were performed in order to find the boiling point
elevation or freezing point depression of solutions. All of the calculated values were in a
reasonable range of the theoretical values for Part I of the experiment, but there was a trend of
increasing percent error as the van’t Hoff factor increased. In calculations, the dissociation of
solutes was assumed to be perfect (for example, a factor of 2 for NaCl as it dissociates into 2
ions), but in the experiment, it is very likely that the solutes did not completely dissociate into
ions. Therefore, the experimental van’t Hoff factor would be lower than the one used for
calculations, which reflects the way solutes do not completely dissociate into ions, but rather
dissociate into ions as a proportion of the entire amount of solute.
The molar mass approximation of benzoic acid was relatively accurate (using a van’t
Hoff factor of 1), which reflects the principle that freezing point depression is directly
proportional to the molality of the solute, or the amount of solute. This demonstrates that the
van’t Hoff factor must be relatively close to but greater than 1, because as found in the other
experiments, as the theoretical van’t Hoff factor increases, the percent error of the experimental
value also increases.
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For the freezing point depression of sodium acetate in Part III of the experiment, the
graph shows a spike in temperature after some of the solution freezes, and then a steady decrease
in temperature going forward. This may have been due to a combination of a lack of consistent
temperature in the system and a release in heat during the first part of sodium acetate’s phase
change into solid. To minimize this phenomenon in a future lab, the system should be
continually stirred to keep the temperature of the system consistent.
In general, the results reflected the expected result of boiling point elevation and freezing
point depression because dissolved solute molecules displace solvent molecules and therefore
lower the vapor pressure and get in the way of solvent bond formation.