When dissolved in water, ammonium phosphate would have a value of __________ for i solute.
(NH4)3PO4 has 3 NH4 ions and 1 PO4 ions. Add them together to get i = 4
To determine the value of "i" for a solute, we need to understand the concept of Van't Hoff factor. The Van't Hoff factor (i) is a measure of the extent to which a solute dissociates or breaks apart into ions when it dissolves in water.
Ammonium phosphate (NH4)3PO4 is an ionic compound containing both cations (NH4+) and anions (PO4^3-). When it dissolves in water, it breaks apart into its individual ions.
The compound (NH4)3PO4 dissociates according to the following equation:
(NH4)3PO4(s) → 3NH4+(aq) + PO4^3-(aq)
In this case, we can see that each ammonium ion (NH4+) and the phosphate ion (PO4^3-) separates from the compound. Therefore, when (NH4)3PO4 dissolves in water, it produces four ions in total: three NH4+ ions and one PO4^3- ion.
Hence, the Van't Hoff factor (i) for ammonium phosphate, when dissolved in water, would be 4.