Measuring solubility of saturated

solution
Objective:

The goal of this project is to measure the

solubilities of some common chemicals:
 Table salt (NaCl)
 Epsom salts (MgSO4)
 sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11)
.

Introduction
A good part of the substances we deal with in daily life, such
as milk, gasoline, shampoo, wood, steel and air are mixtures.
When the mixture is homogenous, that is to say, when its
components are intermingled evenly, it is called a solution.
There are various types of solutions, and these can be
categorized by state (gas, liquid, or solid). The chart below
gives some examples of solutions in different states. Many
essential chemical reactions and natural processes occur in
liquid solutions, particularly those containing water (aqueous
solutions) because so many things dissolve in water. In fact,
water is sometimes referred to as the universal solvent. The
electrical charges in water molecules help dissolve different
kinds of substances. Solutions form when the force of attraction
between solute and solvent is greater than the force of
attraction between the particles in the solute.
Two examples of such important processes are the uptake of
nutrients by plants, and the chemical weathering of minerals.
Chemical weathering begins to take place when carbon dioxide
in the air dissolves in rainwater. A solution called carbonic acid
is formed. The process is then completed as the acidic water
seeps into rocks and dissolves underground limestone deposits.
Sometimes, the dissolving of soluble minerals in rocks can even
lead to the formation of caves. If one takes a moment to
consider aqueous solutions, one quickly observes that they
exhibit many interesting properties. For example, the tap water
in your kitchen sink does not freeze at exactly 0°C. This is
because tap water is not pure water; it contains dissolved
solutes. Some tap water, commonly known as hard water,
contains mineral solutes such as calcium carbonate, magnesium
sulphate, calcium chloride, and iron sulphate. Another
interesting solution property is exhibited with salt and ice.
Another example comes from the fact that salt is spread on ice
collected on roads in winters. When the ice begins to melt, the
salt dissolves in the water and forms salt water. The reason is
that with the addition of salt the melting point of water
increases and as a result the snow melts away faster. Even some
organisms have evolved to survive freezing water temperatures
with natural "antifreeze." Certain arctic fish have blood
containing a high concentration of a specific protein. This
protein behaves like a solute in a solution and lowers the
freezing point of the blood. Going to the other end of the
spectrum, one can also observe that the boiling point of a
solution is affected by the addition of a solute. These two
properties, namely freezing-point depression and boiling-point
elevation, are called colligative properties (properties that
depend on the number of molecules, but not on their chemical
nature).
Basic Concepts
A saturated solution is a mixture in which no more solute can
be practically dissolved in a solvent at a given temperature. It is
said practical because theoretically infinite amount of solute can
be added to a solvent, but after a certain limit the earlier
dissolved solute particles start rearranging and come out at a
constant rate. Hence overall it appears that no solute is
dissolved after a given amount of solute is dissolved. This is
known as a saturated solution. In an unsaturated solution, if
solute is dissolved in a solvent the solute particles dissociate
and mix with the solvent without the re-arrangement of earlier
dissolved solute particles. Solubility depends on various factors
like the Ksp of the salt, bond strength between the cation and
anion, covalency of the bond, extent of inter and intramolecular
hydrogen bonding, polarity, dipole moment etc. Out of these
the concepts of H-bonding, covalency, ionic bond strength and
polarity play a major role if water is taken as a solvent. Also
physical conditions like temperature and pressure also play very
important roles as they affect the kinetic energy of the
molecules.

Materials and Equipment

 To do this experiment following materials and equipment are
required:
•Distilled water
•Metric liquid measuring cup (or graduated cylinder)
•Three clean glass jars or beakers
•Non-iodized table salt (NaCl)
•Epsom salts (MgSO4)
•Sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11)
•Disposable plastic spoons
•Thermometer
•Three shallow plates or saucers
•Oven •Electronic kitchen

Experimental Procedure Determining

Solubility
Determining Solubility
1. Measure 100 mL of distilled water and pour into a clean,
empty beaker or jar.
2. Use the kitchen balance to weigh out the suggested amount
(see below) of the solute to be tested.
a. 50 g Non-iodized table salt (NaCl)
b. 50 g Epsom salts (MgSO4) c. 250 g Sugar (sucrose,
C12H22O11)
 3. Add a small amount of the solute to the water and stir with a
clean disposable spoon until dissolved.
4. Repeat this process, always adding a small amount until the
solute will no longer dissolve.
5. Weigh the amount of solute remaining to determine how
much was added to the solution. 6. Try and add more solute at
the same temperature and observe changes if any
7. Now heat the solutions and add more solute to the solutions.

Observations:

Measure 100 mL of distilled water and pour into a clean,

empty beaker or jar.

1. Use the kitchen balance to weigh out the suggested

amount of the solute to be tested.
a. 50 g Non-iodized table salt (NaCl)
b. 50 g Epsom salts (MgSO4)
c. 250 g Sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11)
2. Add a small amount of the solute to the water and stir with
a clean disposable spoon until dissolved.
3. Repeat this process, always adding a small amount until
the solute will no longer dissolve.
4. Weigh the amount of solute remaining to determine how
much was added to the solution. Save your saturated
solutions for the second method.

Adding more solute at the same temperature to the saturated

solutions yielded no significant changes in NaCl and Epsom
salt. However, at all temperatures the saturation point of
sucrose could not be obtained exactly as due to the large size
of the molecule the solution became thick and refraction was
more prominent. Neglecting this observation in the room for
error, the experiments agreed with the theory. Adding more
solute to heated solutions increased the solubility in all the 3
cases. The largest increase was shown by NaCl, followed by
Epsom salt and sucrose. These facts too agreed with the theory
as at high temperatures the kinetic energy of molecules
increases and the collisions are more effective. Conclusions: The
solubility of NaCl is the highest as it an ionic salt and easily
dissociates in water. Also, since the size of both the cation and
anion are small, the collisions are more and hence probability of
dissociation is high. The solubility of MgSO4 is also high as it is
also an ionic salt, but due to a larger anion, collisions are no
very effective. The solubility of C12H22O11 is the least as it a
very large molecule due to which hydrogen bonding with the
water molecules is not very effective. Also due to the large
number of carbon and oxygen atoms, inter molecular H-
bonding is more dominant than intramolecular H-bonding.

Precautions:
While adding the solute to the solvent, the solution should be
stirred slowly so as to avoid the formation of any globules.
Stirring should not be vigorous as the kinetic energy of the
molecules might change due to which solubility can increase.
While stirring, contact with the walls of the container should be
avoided as with every collision, an impulse is generated which
makes the dissolved solute particles rearrange themselves.
As a result solubility can decrease. The temperature while
conducting all the three experiments should be approximately
same.
Epsom salt should be first dried in order to remove the water
of crystallization (MgSO4.7H2O).

Result:
The saturated solutions of NaCl, MgSO4 and C12H22O11 were
made and observed. The observations agreed with the related
theory within the range of experimental error

Conclusions:
The solubility of NaCl is the highest as it an ionic salt and easily
dissociates in water. Also since the size of both the cation and
anion are small, the collisions are more and hence probability of
dissociation is high. The solubility of MgSO4 is also high as it is
also an ionic salt, but due to a larger anion, collisions are not
very effective. The solubility of C12H22O11 is the least as it a
very large molecule due to which hydrogen bonding with the
water molecules is not very effective. Also due to the large
number of carbon and oxygen atoms, inter molecular H-
bonding is more dominant than intramolecular H-bonding
Bibliography
 www.icbse.com
Measuring solubility of saturated
solution

Index
 . Introduction
 Basic concepts
 Materials and Equipment
 Experimental Procedure
 Observation
 Conclusion
 Result
 Precautions
 Bibliography