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molarity
[ moh-lar-i-tee ]
noun
- the number of moles of solute per liter of solution.
molarity
/ mɒˈlærɪtɪ /
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More About Molarity
What is molarity?
Molarity is the number of moles of solute per one liter of solution. The symbol for molarity is a capital M.
In chemistry, a solution is a mixture of two or more substances in which neither substance changes chemically. For example, salt water is a solution that contains water (the solvent) and salt (the solute). Concentration is the amount of dissolved substance in a solution. In other words, it is the amount of stuff that has been mixed into your liquid. Concentration is usually measured in molarity.
A mole is a basic unit in chemistry. It is the amount of a substance in grams that contains as many atoms, molecules, or ions as 12 grams of carbon-12 (6.022 x 1023) does. A mole of oxygen, for example, is 6.022 x 1023 atoms of oxygen.
Molarity is the number of moles of a solute per liter of solution. If we wanted to know the molarity of our saltwater solution, we’d want to know how many moles of salt are in every 1 liter of the water.
Why is molarity important?
The first records of the term molarity come from around 1930. It combines the word molar, an adjective that refers to moles, and the suffix –ity, a suffix used to create abstract nouns that express a state.
Why do we care about molarity? Because it tells us how densely packed a substance is in a solution. Is there a lot of salt in the water or only a little bit? If you know the molarity of a solution, you can also determine the exact amount of substance (in grams) that is dissolved in a solution.
Did you know … ?
The actual metric unit of measurement of concentration is mole per cubic meter (mol/m3). Molarity is only concerned with a single liter, however, so we simplify the measurement by using mole per cubic decimeter (mol/dm3) instead. A cubic decimeter is equal to 1 liter.
What are real-life examples of molarity?
A student will usually discover whether they will enjoy chemistry during the same lesson that their teacher introduces molarity.
I hate this review I hate chemistry I hate molarity. I HATE YOU! I can do like 3 on the front of this review I don't wanna look at the back
— Cole Jenkins (@Cole_Jenkins10) April 18, 2013
Shoutout to Ms. Shea for being a quality teacher because I'm one of the few in the class that understands how to calculate molarity.
— Milly (@millyborrellixo) September 4, 2015
Quiz yourself!
True or False?
Molarity is the number of moles of solute per one liter of solution.
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