SOLUBILITY

SOLUTE – the substance that is dissolved in the

solvent

SOLVENT- liquid in which the solute dissolves

SOLUTE + SOLVENT SOLUTION

 TYPES OF SOLUTIONS

SOLUTE SOLVENT EXAMPLE

GAS LIQUID Seltzer (CO2)
LIQUID LIQUID Antifreeze (ethyl glycol in water)
SOLID LIQUID Sea water ( salt in water)
Solubility
maximum grams of solute that will
dissolve in 100 g of solvent at a given
temperature
Solubility curve

Saturated
Supersaturated

Unsaturated
 Solubility
UNSATURATED SATURATED SUPERSATURATED
SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION
more solute no more solute becomes unstable,
dissolves dissolves crystals form

increasing concentration
The amount of solid which
dissolves in water at a
particular temperature
is different for different
substances.
 Solubility curve

• Any point on a line

represents a saturated
solution.
• In a saturated solution, the
solvent contains the
maximum amount of
solute.
• Example
• At 90oC, 40 g of NaCl(s) in 100g
H2O(l) represent a saturated
solution.
 Solubility curve
• Any point below a line
represents an unsaturated
solution.
• In an unsaturated solution,
the solvent contains less
than the maximum
amount of solute.
• Example
• At 90oC, 30 g of NaCl(s) in
100g H2O(l) represent an
unsaturated solution. 10 g
of NaCl(s) have to be
added to make the
solution saturated.
 Solubility curve
• Any point above a line
represents a supersaturated
solution.
• In a supersaturated solution,
the solvent contains more than
the maximum amount of
solute. A supersaturated
solution is very unstable and
the amount in excess can
precipitate or crystallize.
• Example
• At 90oC, 50 g of NaCl(s) in 100g
H2O(l) represent a
supersaturated solution.
Eventually, 10 g of NaCl(s) will
precipitate.
Reading graph: at 38 °C the solubility of copper sulphate, CuSO4, is

28g of anhydrous salt per 100g of water.

Reading graph: at 84 °C the solubility of potassium sulphate, K2SO4, is

22g per 100g of water.

Ex Q1: How much potassium nitrate will dissolve in 20g of water at 34 °C?

At 34 °C the solubility is 52g per 100g of water, so scaling down, 52 x 20 / 100 = 10.4g will dissolve
in 20g of water.
Ex Q2: At 25 °C 6.9g of copper sulphate dissolved in 30g of water, what is its
solubility in g/100cm3 of water?

Scaling up, 6.9 x 100 / 30 = 23g/100g of water (check on graph, just less than 23g/100g
water).
Ex Q3: 200 cm3 of saturated copper sulphate solution was prepared at a temperature of 90 °C. What
mass of copper sulphate crystals form if the solution was cooled to 20 °C?

Solubility of copper sulphate at 90 °C is 67g/100g water, and 21g/100g water at 20 °C. Therefore for mass of
crystals formed = 67 - 21 = 46g (for 100 cm3 of solution). However, 200 cm3 of solution was prepared, so total
mass of copper sulphate crystallised = 2 x 46 = 92g
The solubility curve for gases
is the opposite of the solubility
curve for solids.
The solubility of a gas decreases
as the temperature increases.