This question involves understanding vapor pressure and equilibrium in a closed system with two open beakers. Let me explain the concept step by step.

Step 1: Understand the Setup
You have two open beakers inside a sealed container:

• Beaker A: Pure solvent
• Beaker B: Solution (solvent + non-volatile solute)

Since the container is sealed, no mass is exchanged with the outside, but the beakers are open inside, allowing vapor to move freely.

Step 2: Recall Vapor Pressure
The vapor pressure of a pure solvent is higher than that of a solution containing a non-volatile solute. This is due to Raoult's Law: $P_{\text{solution}}=X_{\text{solvent}}{P}_{\text{solvent}}^{*}$ where $X_{\text{solvent}}$ is the mole fraction of solvent in the solution, and $P_{\text{solvent}}^{*}$ is the vapor pressure of the pure solvent. Since $X_{\text{solvent}}<1$, the solution has a lower vapor pressure.

Step 3: Equilibrium in the Closed Container
Initially, the pure solvent has a higher vapor pressure, so it evaporates faster. The vapor fills the container. Since the solution has lower vapor pressure, it will tend to condense vapor more than evaporate. Over time, to achieve equilibrium, vapor will move from the higher pressure region (above pure solvent) to the lower pressure region (above solution), leading to net condensation into the solution beaker and net evaporation from the pure solvent beaker.

Step 4: Result Over Time
This causes:

• Pure solvent beaker: Loses solvent due to evaporation → volume decreases.
• Solution beaker: Gains solvent due to condensation → volume increases.

The process continues until the vapor pressures equalize, but since the solute is non-volatile and non-transferable, the pure solvent will keep evaporating and the solution will keep condensing, effectively transferring solvent from the pure beaker to the solution beaker.

Final Answer: The volume of the solution increases and the volume of the solvent decreases.

Related Topics and Formulae

Raoult's Law: For a solution, the vapor pressure is given by $P_{\text{solution}}=X_{\text{solvent}}{P}_{\text{solvent}}^{*}$. For a non-volatile solute, this is always less than $P_{\text{solvent}}^{*}$.

Colligative Properties: Properties like vapor pressure lowering depend on the number of solute particles, not their identity.

Dynamic Equilibrium: In a closed system, evaporation and condensation rates equalize at equilibrium, but here the presence of solute disrupts this balance initially, driving solvent transfer.