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Molality Calculator

Solve moles of solute, kilograms of solvent, or molality using m = n / kg solvent. Molality stays stable when temperature changes volume. Informational, not a lab protocol.

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How to use the molality calculator

  1. Enter exactly two of moles, solvent mass, and molality. Leave the unknown blank.
  2. Choose kilograms, grams, or milligrams for the solvent mass unit.
  3. Read molality in mol/kg, moles of solute, and solvent mass in kilograms.
  4. Use solvent mass only. Do not enter the mass of the whole solution unless that is what you measured as solvent.

Molality

Amount of solute per kilogram of solvent

Symbolm or mol/kg
Formulam = n / kg solvent
TemperatureIndependent of solution volume expansion
Solvent massKilograms of solvent, not solution
Colligative useCommon in freezing-point and boiling-point problems
Versus molarityMolarity uses liters of solution

What molality measures

Molality is moles of solute divided by kilograms of solvent. A 2 mol/kg solution holds two moles of solute for every kilogram of solvent. The default 0.5 mol in 0.25 kg of solvent is 2 mol/kg.

Solvent mass versus solution mass

Weigh the solvent before or without counting dissolved solute mass as solvent. Solution mass includes solute. Mixing those two masses changes colligative calculations. This page always treats the mass field as solvent.

How this page solves m = n / kg

Provide any two of moles, solvent mass, and molality. Grams and milligrams convert to kilograms first. The page then fills the blank. Errors fire when zero or negative masses appear, or when the set of inputs is not exactly two known values.

Limits

Informational arithmetic only. Not a lab protocol, purity assay, or safety document. See the disclaimer.

Molality questions

Why does molality use kilograms of solvent?
Colligative formulas are written per kilogram of solvent. Using solution mass would bake solute mass into the denominator.
Does temperature change molality the way it changes molarity?
Volume expands with temperature, so molarity can shift. Solvent mass does not expand that way, so molality stays fixed for a sealed mixture.
Can I type solvent mass in grams?
Yes. Select grams. The page converts to kilograms before it divides moles by solvent mass.
Is 1 molal the same as 1 molar?
Only by coincidence for some dilute aqueous cases. The definitions differ: mol/kg solvent versus mol/L solution.
Will this page accept a blank molality field?
Yes when moles and solvent mass are both set. That is the usual solve path for m = n / kg.