Question

What is van’t Hoff factor?

Answer 1

The ratio of the observed (experimental) value of a colligative property to the normal (calculated) value of the same property is termed as van’t Hoff factor, i.

Mathematically,

`i = "(Observed (experimental) value of a colligative property)"/"(Normal (calculated) value of the same colligative property)"`

or `i = (Delta_"obs")/(Delta_"cal")`    ...(i)

Van’t Hoff factor may also be defined as the ratio of normal molecular mass of a solute to its observed molecular mass, i.e.,

`i = "Normal molecular mass"/"Observed molecular mass"`

or Normal molecular mass = i × Observed molecular mass