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With equal volumes of toluene and water a compound is found to partition such that the concentration is twice as large in the aqueous phase. What is the partition coefficient and what percentage (by mass) of the compound will be present in the toluene portion

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User Bedasso
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1 Answer

2 votes
The partition coefficient (Kd) is the ratio of the concentration of a compound in the aqueous phase to its concentration in the organic phase. In this case, the concentration of the compound is twice as large in the aqueous phase as it is in the organic phase. Therefore, the partition coefficient can be calculated as follows:

Kd = [Compound]aqueous / [Compound]organic
Kd = 2 / 1
Kd = 2

The partition coefficient is 2.

To calculate the percentage (by mass) of the compound present in the toluene portion, we can use the following equation:

% Compound in toluene = (1 / (1 + Kd)) x 100

Substituting the value of Kd, we get:

% Compound in toluene = (1 / (1 + 2)) x 100
% Compound in toluene = (1 / 3) x 100
% Compound in toluene = 33.33%

Therefore, 33.33% (by mass) of the compound will be present in the toluene portion.
answered
User Slava Utesinov
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