Concentration & Molarity
To calculate how much solute is dissolved in the solvent with respect to mass, use Percent by
Mass: (mass of solute/mass of solution) * 100. Note that the denominator is the mass of
solution, not solvent.
To calculate how much solute is dissolved in the solvent with respect to volume, use Percent by
Volume: (volume of solute/volume of solution) * 100. Note that the denominator is the mass of
solution, not solvent.
To calculate how much solute is dissolved in the solvent with respect to parts per million (ppm),
use PPM: (mass of solute/mass of solution) * 1,000,000. Note that the denominator is the mass
of solution, not solvent.
Molarity is how many moles of solute are in a liter of solvent. The units are mol/L. Represented
by M or the word Molar. Ex: 6 moles per liter, 6M, or 6 molar.
*Note: If given grams, you must convert to moles first (use your foldable).
**Note: If given mililiters, you must convert to liters first (move the decimal 3x to the left).
***Note: In a balanced chemical equation, the coefficients equal the moles. (Ex: 3Na +
3CL → 6NaCl means that there are 3 moles Na, 3 moles Cl, and 6 moles NaCl).
1) A solution contains 12.0 g of sugar dissolved in 88.0 g of water. What is the percent by
mass of sugar in the solution?
12%
2) What volume of isopropyl alcohol is present in a 275-mL solution that is 3% isopropyl
alcohol by volume?
8.25ml
3) A 2.50 kg sample of soil contains 0.0015 g of mercury (Hg). What is the concentration of
mercury in parts per million (ppm)?
.60ppm
4) A 500.0 g sample of seawater contains 0.015 g of magnesium ions (Mg2+). What is the
concentration of magnesium ions in ppm?
30ppm
5) How many moles of KNO3 are needed to prepare 3.00 L of a 0.50 M KNO3 solution?
1.5 moles
6) A solution has a molarity of 0.25 M and contains 0.75 moles of HCl. What is the volume
of the solution in liters?
3L
7) Why is molarity the most commonly used way to determine the concentration of a
solution?
Molarity is the most commonly used measure of concentration because it directly relates the
amount of solute to the volume of solution, making it useful for chemical reactions and solution
preparation.
8) If you dilute a 1.0 M NaCl solution by adding water, what changes about the solution?
The concentration (molarity) decreases, but the number of moles of solute remains the same.
The concentration (molarity) decreases, but the number of moles of solute remains the same.
9) What is the molarity of a solution that is prepared by dissolving 20.0 g of NaCl in 2.00 L
of water?
0.171 M
10) How many moles of H SO are present in 50.0 mL of a 3.0 M solution?
0.15 moles
11) You are asked to prepare 500 mL of a 0.250 M MgCl solution. How many grams of
MgCl must you dissolve in the water?
23.8g
12) If 16.0 grams of NaOH is dissolved to create a 0.200 M solution, what volume of water is
required?
2L
