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What is Solubility?
Many solids and gases
dissolve in water.
Solubility is a measure of
the
amount of a substance that can be dissolved.
Solids.
Most ionic solids dissolve in water, most covalent solids
do not.
The amount of solid dissolved in water is
given in units of
grams of solid per 100 grams
of water.
You can not keep dissolving
more and more
solid
in the same amount of water. Eventually,
no more solid will
dissolve and the solution is called saturated.
If you increase the temperature of the solution (heat it
up)
and keep adding solid, then
more solid will dissolve
until the solution becomes saturated again.
If you decrease the temperature of the saturated
solution
(cool it down)
then some of the solid will
come out of the solution (see crystallisation).
You can plot a graph of
the maximum amount of dissolved solid
against temperature.
This is called the solubility curve for that particular solid.
Gases.
Many gases
dissolve in water.
Examples are carbon
dioxide, chlorine and oxygen.
The solubility of a gas
increases as the temperature decreases.
This is the opposite of the
solubility of solids.
Also, the solubility of a gas
increases as the pressure increases.
A solubility
curve for a gas can be
shown as
a graph of the maximum amount of dissolved gas
against temperature or pressure.
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