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Multiple Choice
Which of the following solutions will generate the highest osmotic pressure?
A
0.1 M NaCl
B
0.1 M CaCl2
C
0.1 M glucose
D
0.1 M urea
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Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand that osmotic pressure is a colligative property, which means it depends on the number of solute particles in a solution, not their identity.
Use the formula for osmotic pressure: , where is the osmotic pressure, is the van 't Hoff factor, is the molarity, is the ideal gas constant, and is the temperature in Kelvin.
Determine the van 't Hoff factor () for each solute: NaCl dissociates into 2 ions (Na+ and Cl-), so ; CaCl2 dissociates into 3 ions (Ca2+ and 2 Cl-), so ; glucose and urea do not dissociate, so for both.
Since all solutions have the same molarity (0.1 M) and are assumed to be at the same temperature, compare the osmotic pressures by comparing the van 't Hoff factors: the solution with the highest will have the highest osmotic pressure.
Conclude that the 0.1 M CaCl2 solution will generate the highest osmotic pressure because it has the highest van 't Hoff factor of 3.