SK017

Past Year Examination Questions Unit 8

Unit 8: Phase Equilibria

Jan 99

1. a) State four colligative properties.

b) Calculate the mass of glucose, C6H12O6 needed to decrease the freezing point of 150 g
water by 0.75°C. [Kf = 1.86°C kg mol−1] <10.887>
c) The vapour pressure of heptane and octane at 20°C are 473 Pa and 140 Pa respectively.
Calculate the vapour pressure of a solution containing 100 g heptane and 57 g octane.
<363>

Jun 99

2. a) State the Raoult’s law.

At 30°C, the vapour pressure of pure liquids P and Q are 0.15 atm and 0.05 atm
respectively. When equilibrium was reached between the vapour state and their liquid
solutions, calculate the mole fraction of vapour P if the mole fraction of P in the liquid is
0.6? <0.82>

b) The freezing point and the molal freezing point depression constant Kf for benzene are 5.5
°C and 5.1°C kg mol−1 respectively. When 3.6 g of an organic compound, R was dissolved
in 60.0 g of benzene, the freezing point changed to 4.5°C. Calculate the molar mass of R.
<306>

Jan 00

3. Carbon dioxide has a triple point at temperature −57°C and pressure 5 atm while its critical
point is at temperature 31°C and pressure 73 atm.
Sketch a labelled phase diagram for carbon dioxide and explain how the melting point of
carbon dioxide changes with increasing pressure.

Jul 00

4. a) What is the meaning of the colligative properties of solution?

b) Explain a law which correlate the change in vapour pressure of a solvent with the
concentration of solute present.
c) The table below shows data obtained at 25°C for a miscible system: 1-propanol and
water.

Mole fraction of
0 0.02 0.05 0.10 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 0.95 1.00
1-propanol, x
Vapour pressure
of water, P 23.7 23.5 23.2 22.7 21.8 21.7 19.9 13.4 4.2 0
(mmHg)

Plot a graph of water vapour pressure versus the mole fraction of 1-propanol. State whether
the graph obtained obeys the law stated in (b). Explain.

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Past Year Examination Questions Unit 8
5. The table below shows the boiling points for pure trichloromethane, ethanol and azeotropic
mixture which is formed from the mixture of trichloromethane and ethanol.

Liquid Boiling point/°C

Trichlomethane 61.2
Ethanol 78.5
Azeotropic mixture 53.6

a) What is meant by the azeotropic mixture?

b) Sketch and label the diagram of vapour pressure versus composition of the
trichloromethane-ethanol system.
c) Sketch and label the diagram of temperature versus composition of the trichloromethane-
ethanol system.
d) Based on the diagram in (c), explain how you can obtain pure CHCl3 liquid.

Aug 01

6. The boiling point of H2O is 100°C while the boiling point of HNO3 is 86°C. When these two
solutions were added, the vapour pressure of the mixture was less than the vapour pressure of
pure H2O and pure HNO3. The azeotropic mixture was formed when the per cent composition
of HNO3 is 68%.
a) Give the meaning of azeotropic mixture.
b) State the type of deviation exhibited by the mixture. Explain.
c) Sketch and label the diagrams of temperature-composition and vapour pressure-
composition for the mixture.
d) State the product and residue for the distillation of a mixture containing 50% H2O and
50% HNO3.

Aug 02

7. A solution was formed by adding carbon tetrachloride to ethanol. The interacting forces
between molecules ethanol and between carbon tetrachloride molecules were found to be
greater than the interacting forces between ethanol and carbon tetrachloride molecules.
i. The solution deviates from Raoult’s law. Explain.
ii. There was a change in temperature while forming the solution. Explain.
iii. State whether the value of ∆H is positive or negative?

8. The following diagram represents the vapour pressure for substance Y.

Pressure
(mmHg) u

760
p q r s t

temperature

Explain the points u and v. State the phases that exist at points q and r.

9. Calculate the mass of urea, H2NCONH2 needed to add to 1.0 kg of water so that the solution
formed will boil at 100.25°C. Hence explain why the boiling point of urea in water is higher
compared to the boiling point of pure water.

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 SK017
Past Year Examination Questions Unit 8

[boiling point of water =100°C; Kb water=0.51°C mol−1 kg] <29.41g>

Sept 03

10. An amount of 11.40 g non-volatile substance T was dissolved in 600 g of water. The freezing
point of the solution is -0.50°C. Calculate the relative molecular mass of T and the boiling
point of its solution. <71, 100.136°C>
[Kf water =1.86 °C m , Kb water =0.51 °C m ]
−1 −1

11. (a) Define Raoult’s law.

A mixture of acetone-water has a negative deviation from Raoult’s law with P°water< P°
acetone
Sketch a graph of vapour pressure versus mole fraction of the mixture.
The mixture of acetone-water exhibits a negative deviation. Explain this statement in
terms of the attractive forces and the vapour pressures of the solution. (7M)

(b) What is an azeotropic mixture?

X and Y form an azeotropic mixture with composition of 42% X. The mixture boils at a
temperature of 341 K and pressure of 760 torr. At this pressure, X and Y boil at 351 K
and 353 K respectively.
Sketch the phase diagram of temperature versus per cent composition for the mixture.
Do these mixtures show positive or negative deviation from ideality? Explain.
(8M)
State the distillate collected and the residue left in the flask if a mixture of 60% X and
40% Y is fractionally distillated.

Oct 04

12. The temperature-composition phase diagram of mixtures of liquids A and B is shown in the
following figure.
160
155
150
Temperature /°C

145
140
135
130
125
120
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 xA
i. When a mixture of A and B is distilled in a simple distillation apparatus, what can you
say about the composition of the distillate and the composition of the residue?
Explain.
ii. When an equimolar mixture of A and B is distilled in a simple distillation apparatus,
what would the boiling point be? Estimate the composition of the distillate.

13. Table below shows data phase equilibrium diagram for carbon dioxide.
Pressure (atm) Temperature (°C)
Triple point 5.2 −57
Critical point 73 31
a) Sketch a phase diagram for carbon dioxide.
b) By referring to the phase diagram, explain why solid carbon dioxide at ordinary
temperature and pressure does not melt, instead it sublimes.

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 SK017
Past Year Examination Questions Unit 8

c) Explain the phase changes that could possibly occur when a sample of carbon dioxide in a
closed vessel under 1 atm pressure and a temperature of -78°C is pressurised isothermally
to 10 atm, followed by isobaric heating to 20°C.

Oct 05

14. When 0.833 g of vitamin B2 is dissolved in 18.1 g of water, the freezing point of this solution is
−0.227°C.
[The molal freezing point depression constant of water is 1.86°C kg mol−1]
i. Calculate the molality of the solution.
<0.122>
ii. Determine the molar mass of vitamin B2. <377.2>

15. (a) What is an azeotropic mixture?

(b) The boiling point of an azeotropic mixture containing B and C with a mole fraction xB = 0.7
is 120°C. Pure B and C boil at 65°C and 90°C respectively. Sketch a labelled phase diagram
from the above data.
(c) State any deviation from Raoult’s law.
(d) Show in the diagram above the composition variation during successive boilings and
condensations of a mixture with initial mole fraction, xC=0.8.
(e) A mixture with initial mole fraction, xB=0.5 is distilled using fractional distillation.
Name the distillate and residue.

Oct 06

16. State Raoult’s law.

Verify whether each of the observations in table below obey Roult,s law. Explain
.
Observations 1 The vapour pressure of a liquid solvent F was 0.8 atm. A nonvolatile
component G was added at a mol fraction of 0.25. The vapour
pressure of the mixture dropped to 0.6 atm.
Observations 2 A solution was made by dissolving 6 g of a nonvolatile substance of
molecular weight 60 g/mol in 450 g of toluene, C6H5CH3.. The
solution showed a vapour pressure of 38 mmHg at 26ºC whereas the
pure toluene has a vapour pressure of 40 mmHg at the same
temperature.

Oct 07

17. (a) TABLE 2 shows phase equilibrium data for substance D.

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 SK017
Past Year Examination Questions Unit 8
TABLE 2

Pressure (atm) Temperature (oC)

Sublimation point 2.5 - 80
Triple point 5.0 - 60
Critical point 40.0 30
Melting point 1 15.0 - 30
Melting point 2 35.0 - 15
Boiling point 1 20.0 10
Boiling point 2 30.0 25

Plot and label a phase diagram for D.

Does D sublime at 20 atm? Explain your answer.

(b) Ethanol, C2H5OH and methanol, CH3OH form an ideal solution. The vapour pressures of
pure ethanol and pure methanol are 6.5 kPa and 10.3 kPa, respectively at 25 oC. Calculate
the vapour pressure of a solution made from 30 g of ethanol and 20 g of methanol at 25 oC.

[C2H5OH = 46; CH3OH = 32]

Oct 08

18. (a) A solution containing 0.5 g of an unknown non-volatile solute is added to 100 mL of water.
This solution is separated from a volume of pure water by a semi-permeable membrane.
When the system reaches equilibrium, the difference in height, h, between the solution and
the solvent is 5.6 cm. Assuming that the density, ρ, of the solution is 1.0 g cm-3, calculate
the molecular mass of the unknown solute.

(Given: Pressure = ρgh, gravitational acceleration, g = 9.8 m s-2)

(b) A mixture consisting of 0.40 mol fraction of hexane, C6H14, and 0.60 mol fraction of
heptane, C7H16, forms an ideal solution. State two properties of an ideal solution and explain
why a mixture of heptane-hexane forms an ideal solution.

By drawing an appropriate phase diagram, state how the mixture of these liquids can be
separated.

[boiling point: C6H14 = 69oC, C7H16 = 98oC]

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