Introduction to Solutions
Solubility ­ the maximum amount of a solute that can dissolve in a fixed amount of solvent at a specific temperature. Eg. The solubility of sodium chloride in water is 39.5 g/100 mL at 25 ◦C.
Units for solubility can also be expressed as mol/L, g/L …
A solution that is composed of a high percentage of solute is called CONCENTRATED
A solution with a low percentage of solute is called DILUTE.
Solution can be classified as three ways: (see animation link from webpage)
1) Unsaturated: a solution in which more solute can be dissolved while the temperature remains constant
2) Saturated: a solution in which NO more solute can be dissolved while the temperature remains constant. (This refers to the solubility of the solute).
3) Supersaturated: a solution which contains more dissolved solute than it would normally have at a given temperature.
The solubility of a solute depends on several factors including the nature of the solute and solvent.
Some solutes are:
Soluble: generally means that greater than 1.0 g of the solute can be dissolved per 100 mL of solvent. (i.e > 1.0g/100mL)
Insoluble: generally means that less than 0.1 g of the solute can be dissolved per 100 mL of solvent. (i.e < 0.1g/100mL)
Sparingly or slightly soluble: generally falling in between soluble and insoluble.
Although we say that gasses are soluble in water, the concentrations are very low (eg. 0.0009g/100mL). Thus the term soluble is relative and cannot be compared between solid and gaseous solutes. Apr 27­10:29 PM
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