Core Concepts
In this tutorial, you will learn the molarity formula, and how to calculate the molarity of a solution using the molarity equation. If you enjoy this article, make sure to check out other resources linked below!
Topics Covered in Other Articles
- Calculating Molar Mass
- Mixtures vs. Compounds
- Molecule vs. Compound
- What is a Mole?
- Normality and Other Units of Concentration
Vocabulary
- Molarity (
): otherwise known as the molar concentration of a solution, molarity is the moles of solute per liters of solution. Molarity can be expressed as the abbreviations mol/L, or more popularly, M. - Molar mass: the sum of the atomic weights that make up a molecule. For an element, it is the same value as the atomic weight displayed in theperiodic table.
- Solute: the substance in a solution that is dissolved by the solvent. It is always the smallercomponent in the solution. In chemistry, the solute is the element or molecule in the solution.
- Solvent: the substance that dissolves the solute. This is what makes up the majority of the solution, which is usually water or in some cases, an organic solvent.
): otherwise known as the molar concentration of a solution, molarity is the moles of solute per liters of solution. Molarity can be expressed as the abbreviations mol/L, or more popularly, M.What is molarity?
Molarity is the number of moles of solute per liter of solution. For example, if you dissolve table salt in water, salt is the solute, and water is the solution. One mole of sodium chloride weighs 58.44 grams. If you dissolve 58.44 grams of NaCl in one liter of water, you have a one molar solution, abbreviated as 
. It is important to know, that the volume of solution is measured after the solute is dissolved, not before. Also, don’t confuse molarity with molality, which is slightly different!
When you see ““, you read that aloud as a “1 molar solution”.
Molarity Formula
The formula for calculating molarity, the molarity equation, is 
How do you calculate molarity?
Molarity is calculated, using the formula above, by considering two components: volume and moles. In the case that moles of the compound are unknown, molar mass can be used to convert the compound from grams to moles. The periodic table provides the atomic masses used to calculate molar mass.
Step 1:
The first step to calculating molarity is identifying one of the two key factors that make up the solution: the volume of the solution and the amount of solute in grams or moles. First, we will start with volume in this tutorial. The volume of the solution can be measured by using a graduated cylinder. For molarity, volume must be in the unit of liters. If the starting volume is in milliliters, converte to liters before calculating concentration. There are 1000 millimeters in a liter. So, with a simple calculation, any volume in milliliters can be converted to liters. For example, if the volume of the solution is 
:
Step 2:
The next step is to determine the amount of solute present in the solution in moles. If the known amount of solute is in grams, it must be converted to moles using molar mass. If we say that the solute is 
of ammonia (NH3), we can convert this to moles using ammonia’s molar mass (
):
Step 3:
The third, and final step, is to use the molarity formula and divide the number of moles of solute by the number liters of the solution to obtain the concentration in moles per liter. If we take the two values from the previous step, we see that the ammonia solution is 
. This means that every liter of this solution contains 
of ammonia.
Another example of calculating molarity
Using a different compound, calcium chloride, we can calculate the molarity of a solution in the same way. Let’s start with these values:
Following the same process outlined above, we can determine the concentration of this calcium chloride solution in a few simple steps. First, convert the volume from milliliters to liters.
Next, we convert grams of calcium chloride into moles.
Finally, we divide the number of moles by the volume of the solution.
Calculating Molarity Practice Problems
Problem 1
You mix 
of acetic acid (CH3COOH) into 
of water. Calculate the molarity of acetic acid in the final solution. Acetic acid has a density of 
.
Problem 2
You combine 
of a 
NaCl solution with 
of a 
MgCl2 solution. What is the final molarity of Cl– in the combined solution? Assume both salts completely dissolve.
Calculating Molarity Practice Problem Solutions
1: 
2: 
Further Reading
- Lab Procedure: Titration
- Surface Tension and Vapor Pressure
- List of Common Polyatomic Ions
