1/12/11 Solutions & Solubility
• A dilute solution is a solution that has very few solute
particles dissolved.
• A concentrated solution is a solution that has a lot of solute
particles dissolved in it.
• A solid that can be dissolved in a solvent is said to be soluble.
Solids that cannot be dissolved in solvents are called insoluble.
Sugar is soluble: iron filings are insoluble.
• Imagine that you keep adding a soluble solid to a solvent.
There'll come a point where no more of the solid can be
dissolved. A saturated solution has been made; it is a solution
that cannot have any more solutes dissolved in it.
• Some substances are more soluble than others. The solubility
of a solute is the measure (usually in g/kg) of how soluble it is.
• To compare the solubility of different solutes you must
measure how much of each solute will dissolve in a known
amount of the solvent
• When the temperature of the solvent increases, the
solubility of most solutes increases. This is because the
increased heat energy causes the particles in the solution to
vibrate and move more; thus, a greater amount of a solute can
be dissolved in a hot solute than in a cold one of the same
volume. For example, 204g of sugar can be dissolved in 100g
of water at 20°C. If the temperature rises to 80°C though,
362g of sugar can be dissolved in the water.
• To find out the solubility of a solute, you must find out it's
solubility at 1g of water. For example, if we want to find how
much sugar can dissolve in 250g of water (when we know that
204g dissolves in 100g) then we'll divide 204 ÷ 100 = 2.04.
Now, we can multiply it by the volume of the solvent to get
our answer: 2.04 × 250 = 905g.
• To find the value of a result that is not represented in a table,
you have to take the two values that it is situated between,
add them, then divide them by 2. This is just finding the mean.
• Water is not the only solvent. Some substances that are
insoluble in water can dissolve in other solvents. Oil, for
example, is insoluble in water but soluble in methanol.