The depression in freezing point of water observed for the same amount of acetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid increases in the order given above. Explain briefly.

Explanation

The depression in freezing point of a solute in water depends upon the number of particles or ions in its aqueous solution or its degree of dissociation (). There acids are arranged in the order of their increasing acidic strengths as follows: `CH_(3)COOH lt "CC"l_(3)COOHltCF_(3)COOH`
Fluorine is more electronegative than chlorine. So, trifluoroacetic acid is stronger than trichloroacetic acid which in turn stronger than acetic acid. The order of depression in freezing point is also the same.