Chem1 General Chemistry Virtual Textbook → solutions → solubility of salts

Solubility equilibria of salts

Solubility products

This lesson is divided into two parts:

Part 1 covers the basics of solubility equilibria
and solubility products.

It is probably all that is needed for most
introductory general chemistry courses.

Part 2 provides more detail on specific solubility
systems and discusses some of the limitations
of solubility products.

This will be most useful to students doing
qualitative analysis lab work, or enrolled in an analytical chemistry course

Please note that these lessons assume that you have a basic understanding of chemical equilibria, equilibrium constants, and the LeChâtelier principle. If you need to review these topics, please see Sections 1-4 of the Chemical Equilibrium lesson set.

Go to Part 1 |  | Go to Part 2

... or you can select specific parts of these units by clicking on the topics below:

Contents of Part 1

- 1 Dissolution of salts in water

- How solubilities are expressed
- Why do salts dissolve... or not?
- Solubility and temperature
- The importance of sparingly soluble solids

- 2 Solubility products

- Ion products vs solubility products
- How they relate to molar solubilities
- The common ion effect
- Selective precipitation and separations

- 3 Competing equilibria involving solids

- Why salts of weak acids dissolve in strong acid
- Formation of a competing precipitate
- Complex ion formation

- What you should be able to do

Contents of Part 2

- 4 Some important solubility systems

- Solubility of oxides and hydroxides
- Solubility of sulfides
- Some solubility-related health problems

- 5 Carbonates, geochemistry and hard water

- Solubility of carbonates
- The carbonate system and geochemistry
- Limestone caves
- Hard water

- 6 Complications of solubility equilibria

- Ks values unreliable
- Dissolved salts not 100% dissociated
- Formation of hydrous complexes
- Ionic interactions
- Smaller particles more soluble
- Supersaturated solutions

- 7 Solutions of Electrolytes

- Electrolytic solutions: the role of water
- Nature of ions in solution
- Electrolytic conductance
- Electrolytes weak and strong
- Ionic migration
- Some applications of electrolytic conduction