Determine the van't Hoff factors (i) for the following solutions. Assume 100% dissociation for ionic solutes

Question

A). 0.35M NaCl

B.) 0.0038M MgBr2

C.) 1.269M C6H12O6\

D.) 0.087M Ca(ClO4)2

Answer 1

i represents the number of ions for these compounds. It is important to differentiate between covalent and ionic compounds, but after this, it is relatively simple. A covalent compound such as c has a van't Hoff factor of 1. For ionic compounds such as a, b, and d, you count the number of ions. For a, there is 1 Na⁺ ion and 1 Cl^- ion, in total 2 ions, so i = 2. For b, there is 1 Mg²⁺ ion and 2 Br^- ions so i = 3. Overall,

a. i = 2

b. i = 3

c. i = 1

d. i = 3