Calculate how much a dissolved solute raises the boiling point of a solvent.
Boiling point elevation is a colligative property, depending only on particle count rather than identity. Electrolytes dissociate, so the van’t Hoff factor multiplies the effect. The effect is small: even 1 molal salt raises water’s boiling point by only about one degree, which is why salting pasta water is about flavour rather than cooking speed.
Boiling Point Elevation
ΔT_b = i K_b b, with i the van’t Hoff factor
ΔT_b = i K_b b, with i the van’t Hoff factor Boiling point elevation is a colligative property, depending only on particle count rather than identity. Electrolytes dissociate, so the van’t Hoff factor multiplies the effect.
The effect is small: even 1 molal salt raises water’s boiling point by only about one degree, which is why salting pasta water is about flavour rather than cooking speed.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Molality of the solution, Ebullioscopic constant, Van’t Hoff factor, Normal boiling point. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.