Colligative Properties – Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is used for water desalination. Which of the following statements correctly describes the principle of reverse osmosis?
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About This Question
- Subject
- chemistry
- Chapter
- solutions
- Topic
- colligative properties – reverse osmosis
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
A pressure greater than the osmotic pressure is applied on the solution side, forcing solvent through a semipermeable membrane to the pure solvent side
In normal osmosis, solvent flows spontaneously from a region of lower solute concentration to higher solute concentration through a semipermeable membrane. In reverse osmosis, an external pressure exceeding the osmotic pressure is applied on the solution side. This reverses the natural direction of solvent flow, pushing pure solvent (water) from the concentrated solution side through the membrane to the other side, leaving dissolved salts behind. The membrane is selectively permeable—it allows water molecules to pass but blocks dissolved ions and larger molecules. This is the basis of desalination plants. Applying pressure exactly equal to osmotic pressure would only stop osmosis (equilibrium), not reverse it; the applied pressure must be strictly greater.
This hard difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter solutions, covering the topic of colligative properties – reverse osmosis. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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