1.
Urea is a chemical frequently used in biochemistry labs to study the stability of proteins. Urea
acts as a denaturing agent that can disrupt the native structure of proteins. What is the osmotic
pressure of a 1.57 M solution of aqueous urea at 300 K?
Solution
osmotic pressure (?) is given by the following formula :
? = cRT
where c = concentration of solute
T = temperature
R = universal gas constant = 0.0821 L atm K -1
given : T = 300 K
and c = 1.57 M
So, ? = cRT
= (1.57 mol L -1
) X (0.0821 L atm K -1
mol -1
) X (300 K )
= 38.6691 atm
Osmotic pressure of a 1.57 M solution of aqueous urea at 300 K is 38.6691 atm .