Vapor pressure is the pressure exerted by the vapor of a substance in equilibrium with its liquid or solid phase at a given temperature.
Adding solutes to a solution lowers the vapor pressure of the solution compared to the pure solvent. This is because the solute particles occupy space at the surface of the solution, reducing the number of solvent molecules that can escape into the vapor phase.
Raoult's law states that the vapor pressure of a solution is directly proportional to the mole fraction of the solvent in the solution. This means that as the mole fraction of the solvent decreases, the vapor pressure of the solution also decreases.
As temperature increases, the vapor pressure of a solution also increases. This is because at higher temperatures, the molecules in the solution have more kinetic energy and are more likely to escape into the vapor phase.
No, the vapor pressure of a solution can never be higher than the vapor pressure of the pure solvent. This is because the presence of solute particles will always lower the vapor pressure of the solution compared to the pure solvent.