Van't hoff factor not considered for C2H5OH?

[mmcoffee]

Hi guys, why didn't they use the formula Tf = -kim here? Aren't they missing an i = 2 ?

Thanks

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[mmcoffee]

Is it because it doesn't dissolve very much?

 

[amy_k]

Van't Hoff factor for ethanol is 1, ethanol is a nonelectrolyte

 

[azor ahai]

don't worry about van't hoff factor for organic compounds like that. think about this way: ethanol in water can lose a proton to water at most, but still barely. in fact, it's less acidic than water. the actual formula involves vibrational, rotational, and translational effects but we don't worry about that either.

you'll pretty much only see van't hoff factor for group 2 metal salts or something.

what test company is that?

 

[mmcoffee]

don't worry about van't hoff factor for organic compounds like that. think about this way: ethanol in water can lose a proton to water at most, but still barely. in fact, it's less acidic than water. the actual formula involves vibrational, rotational, and translational effects but we don't worry about that either.

you'll pretty much only see van't hoff factor for group 2 metal salts or something.

what test company is that?

Thank you for the great explanation! Kaplan