Question

A 7.27-gram sample of a compound is dissolved in 250. grams of benzene. The freezing point of this solution is 1.02°C below that of pure benzene. What is the molar mass of this compound? (Note: Kf for benzene = 5.12°C/m.) Ignore significant figures for this problem. Group of answer choices 36.5 g/mol 146 g/mol 292 g/mol 5.79 g/mol 73.0 g/mol

Answer 1

The correct answer is 146 g/mol

Step-by-step explanation:

Freezing point depression is a colligative property related to the number of particles of solute dissolved in a solvent. It is given by:

ΔTf = Kf x m

Where ΔTf is the freezing point depression (in ºC), Kf is a constant for the solvent and m is the molality of solution. From the problem, we know the following data:

ΔTf = 1.02ºC

Kf = 5.12ºC/m

From this, we can calculate the molality:

m = ΔTf/Kf = 1.02ºC/(5.12ºC/m)= 0.199 m

The molality of a solution is defined as the moles of solute per kg of solvent. Thus, we can multiply the molality by the mass of solvent in kg (250 g= 0.25 kg) to obtain the moles of solute:

0.199 mol/kg benzene x 0.25 kg = 0.0498 moles solute

There are 0.0498 moles of solute dissolved in the solution. To calculate the molar mass of the solute, we divide the mass (7.27 g) into the moles:

molar mass = mass/mol = 7.27 g/(0.0498 mol) = 145.9 g/mol ≅ 146 g/mol

Therefore, the molar mass of the compound is 146 g/mol