Question

How does normality differ from molarity?

Answer 1

Hello.

Thanks for the great question about normality and molarity.

Molarity is defined as moles of solute per liters of solution.

Normality is defined as the number of equivalents per liter of solution.

Let's take an example and determine both the molarity and the normality.

Example: You have a 3.75 M (molar) solution of sulfuric acid, `H_2`S `O_4`. What is the normality of this sulfuric acid solution? Since one formula of sulfuric acid can provide 2 hydrogen ions, each mole of sulfuric acid represents 2 equivalents. The normality of this sulfuric acid is 2 X 3.75 = 7.50 N (N stands for normality).

I do hope this helps. Please let me know if you need clarification.