Final answer:
Colligative properties are those that depend on the total number of dissolved solute particles in a solution, not their chemical identity, and include vapor pressure depression, boiling point elevation, freezing point depression, and osmotic pressure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The properties in question that stem from changes in the disorder of the solvent and are independent of the identity of the particles are known as colligative properties. These properties include vapor pressure depression, boiling point elevation, freezing point depression, and osmotic pressure.
For example, the boiling point of a solution rises as solute particles are added, and this boiling point elevation occurs because the presence of solute particles disrupts the solvent's ability to enter the vapor phase, requiring a higher temperature to achieve the boiling point. Similarly, freezing point depression occurs because solute particles interfere with the solvent's ability to form a solid structure, hence lowering the temperature at which the solution will freeze.
It is important to remember these effects are proportional to the number of dissolved particles, and this concept is also true for vapor pressure lowering and osmotic pressure changes. This is why Raoult's law states that the vapor pressure of a solution is proportional to the mole fraction of the solvent, and why both boiling point elevation and freezing point depression are proportional to the molality of the solute, leading to predictable changes in these properties based on the concentration of solute particles.