Solution and Solubility

Factors Affecting Dissolution Rate

  • Crushing a solid increases its surface area, allowing it to dissolve more quickly.
  • Hot coffee dissolves sugar faster than cold coffee.
  • Stirring a mixture also speeds up dissolution.

Solubility

  • Solubility is the amount of solute that dissolves in a given amount of solvent at a specific temperature. Example: 35.9 grams of table salt dissolve in 100 grams of water at 20 degrees Celsius.

Saturated Solutions

  • A saturated solution cannot dissolve any more solute for a given amount of solvent at a specific temperature; any extra solute will sink.
  • Adding more solvent or heating the solution can allow more solute to dissolve.

Unsaturated Solutions

  • An unsaturated solution has room for more solute to dissolve.

Solubility Curve Graph

  • Solubility curves show how much solute can dissolve in a solvent at different temperatures; usually, as temperature increases, the solubility of a solid increases.
  • You can determine the solubility of a substance at a specific temperature using the graph, noting the grams of solute that dissolve in 100 grams of water.