salt and sugar solubility experiment

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Experiment: Exploring Solubility - How Much Salt and Sugar Can Dissolve in Water?

Introduction:.

Solubility is a key concept in chemistry describing the maximum amount of a solute that can dissolve in a solvent at a given temperature. This experiment explores the solubility of common substances in water, illustrating the impact of molecular structure and temperature on solubility rates.

Materials You'll Need:

• Table salt (sodium chloride)
• Sugar (sucrose)
• Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate)
• Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
• Four small, identical containers or beakers
• A stirring rod or spoon
• Water at room temperature (approximately 20°C)
• Measuring spoons
• Graduated cylinder or measuring cup
• Scale for precise measurement
• Notebook and pen for recording observations
• Prepare the Containers: Use a permanent marker to label each container with the name of the substance you're testing: sodium chloride, sucrose, magnesium sulfate, and sodium bicarbonate.
• Measure Water: Use a graduated cylinder to measure 100 ml of water into each container.
• Test Solubility: Add the solutes to the water incrementally, stirring continuously until no more dissolves. Use a scale to weigh each teaspoon of solute before adding to the water. Record the weight of the solute added to reach the point of saturation.

Observations and Results:

The solubility of a substance in water is heavily dependent on the substance's chemical properties and the temperature of the water. In this experiment, conducted at room temperature, the following observations were made:

1. Sodium Chloride (Table Salt):

Observation: Incrementally added to water, sodium chloride dissolved readily until reaching its solubility limit, which is approximately 357 grams per liter at 20°C.

Result: At room temperature, a saturation point was observed at around 35.7 grams in 100 ml of water, which aligns with sodium chloride's known solubility.

2. Sucrose (Sugar):

Observation: Sucrose dissolved in water, appearing cloudy at first but clearing upon further dissolution.

Result: Sucrose's solubility at room temperature is about 200 grams in 100 ml of water, demonstrating a high solubility rate, contrary to what might be considered moderate.

3. Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt):

Observation: Magnesium sulfate dissolved in water, showing high solubility initially but leaving some undissolved material after reaching saturation.

Result: The solubility of magnesium sulfate at 20°C is 26 grams per 100 ml, indicating a definitive solubility limit at room temperature.

4. Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda):

Observation: Sodium bicarbonate showed solubility in water with an increasing amount until reaching a saturation point without visible residue.

Result: Sodium bicarbonate's solubility is lower than that of sodium chloride, at about 9 grams per 100 ml at room temperature. The observation made previously about 'no visible residue' pertains to an amount below its solubility threshold.

Comparison and Analysis:

The solubility experiment illustrated the differing solubility of the tested substances. Sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate showed high and moderate solubility, respectively, while sucrose displayed a surprisingly high solubility rate, and magnesium sulfate demonstrated a high solubility up to a certain limit.

It's important to note that solubility is an equilibrium condition and is specific to the temperature at which it is measured. The results obtained offer a clear example of how solubility varies between substances and underlines the significance of accurate measurement and controlled conditions in solubility testing.

Conclusion:

This experiment underscores the variable solubility of different substances in water and the importance of understanding these differences for practical applications. It also highlights the importance of precise measurement and conditions when experimenting with solubility.

Safety Tips:

As with all chemistry experiments, safety is paramount. Ensure you wear protective gear and handle all materials with care. Proper disposal of chemicals is essential to maintaining safety and environmental standards.

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How to Separate Salt and Sugar

If you spill sugar and salt together in your kitchen, it’s not worth the effort to separate them. But, you can separate salt and sugar mixtures as a science project to learn about chemical and physical properties and separation chemistry. Here are three ways to separate salt and sugar, plus one that seems like it should work, but really doesn’t.

Separate Salt and Sugar Using Solubility

Both salt and sugar dissolve in water. However, sugar (sucrose) is much more soluble in alcohol than salt (sodium chloride) is. For all practical purposes, salt is insoluble in alcohol. The solubility of salt is 14 g/kg in methanol (25 °C or 77 °F) and 0.65 g/kg in ethanol (25 °C or 77 °F). If you ever plan on eating the salt or sugar, use ethanol to separate the components of the mixture because methanol is toxic. If efficiency is your goal, use methanol because you’ll need less of it to dissolve the salt, leaving the sugar behind. Evaporate or boil off the alcohol to recover the salt.

Be aware this method doesn’t work nearly as well if you don’t use absolute alcohol. If you try to separate sugar and salt using 50% alcohol, it’s likely there will be enough water in the liquid to dissolve both components of the mixture!

Separate Salt and Sugar Using Density

The density of pure table salt (NaCl) is 2.17 g/cm 3 , while the density of pure table sugar (sucrose) is 1.587 g/cm 3 . So, to separate the pure solids, you could shake the mixture. The heavier salt will sink to the bottom of the container. While the material at the top of the container will be almost pure sugar and that at the bottom will be almost pure salt, it may be hard to tell where one compound ends and the other begins. You won’t be able to get 100% separation using only this method.

Separate Salt and Sugar Using Crystal Shape

If you have infinite time and patience, you can separate sugar and salt in a mixture with a magnifying glass and pair of tweezers. Salt crystals are cubic, while sugar crystals are monoclinic hexagons.

What About Using Melting Point?

Sugar is a covalent compound, while salt is an ionic compound. So, you might predict you can separate sugar and salt using melting point . The melting point of salt is very high (800.7 °C or 1473.3 °F). The problem is sugar decomposes at 186 °C (367 °F) rather than melts. If you try to separate the components of the mixture using heat, all you’ll get is burned sugar (carbon) and salt. Save this method for separating salt and sand (although there are better options).

• Burgess, J (1978). Metal Ions in Solution . New York: Ellis Horwood. ISBN 978-0-85312-027-8.
• Rumble, John (ed.) (2019). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (100th ed.). CRC Press. ISBN:978-1138367296.
• Westphal, Gisbert et al. (2002) “Sodium Chloride” in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry . Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi: 10.1002/14356007.a24_317.pub4
• Wilson, Ian D.; Adlard, Edward R.; Cooke, Michael; et al., eds. (2000).  Encyclopedia of Separation Science . San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-226770-3.

Related Posts

Salt vs. Sugar – A Dissolving Problem

This formative assessment looks at two household chemicals (table salt and sugar) and compares their properties while looking at how they dissolve in water. The “Salt vs. Sugar” formative assessment explores students’ thinking about the question “How does structure influence reactivity?” The main idea that is being targeted is for students to think about what is happening at the molecular level during the solution process. This activity is important for students because it helps create a context for what some of the vocabulary and concepts mean by providing tangible examples of these concepts (such as the concept of saturation).

Teacher reflections

Because of the asynchronous flow of the remote learning period, this was challenging to be able to fully communicate with my students during this activity to fully understand their chemical thinking as they were working. I think this activity could have worked better in a synchronous remote learning environment, however, because some students may not have access to the materials needed for this activity at home, materials could have been prepared in a way in advance to get them to the students so they could perform this activity at home. Doing it in a synchronous environment could have also led to interesting suggestions, ideas, or follow ups that students might have thought about on the fly as they were doing the activity. Often times, these ideas and thoughts might be missed in an asynchronous environment where students have time to consider their answer in what they deliberately share at the end, and it might be refined and missing elements of their chemical thought process. Outside of the asynchronous vs synchronous challenge of the formative assessment, I found this formative assessment rather successful in giving students an opportunity to explore aspects they know about molecules and how they interact with each other (specifically, polar intermolecular forces) and see if they can make a model or conclusion about why these chemicals dissolve differently.

Remote learning

During the Remote Learning session, Google Classroom was the primary tool for instruction and organization of learning materials. For this specific Formative Assessment, two documents were provided to students: one was a Google Doc with the questions and instructions for the activity, the other was a Google Slides presentation containing several pictures that were taken during a demo of the activity (in case some students did not have access to the materials at home for this activity, they could work with the image slides to make their observations). One consideration to alter this formative assessment would be to convert the questions to a Google Form instead to perhaps make it easier for some students to input their answers, especially if they didn’t have access to a computer but could use a phone (students had indicated that Google Docs can be very difficult to use on a phone’s touchscreen).

Examples of student work

Pre-activity questions

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General Safety

For Laboratory Work:  Please refer to the ACS  Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools (2016) .  

For Demonstrations: Please refer to the ACS Division of Chemical Education Safety Guidelines for Chemical Demonstrations .

Other Safety resources

RAMP : Recognize hazards; Assess the risks of hazards; Minimize the risks of hazards; Prepare for emergencies

Science Practice: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Analyzing data in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of models to generate and analyze data.

Analyzing data in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of models to generate and analyze data. Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.

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Science project, testing the solubility of common liquid solvents.

Grade Level: 4th - 6th; Type: Physical Science/Mathematics

What is the project about?

Solutions are a special kind of mixture. Solubility is a term used to describe the amount of materials (solids, liquids, or gas) which can be dissolved in a solvent to make a solution. The research aspect of this science fair project is to test the solubility of several common liquid substances.

What are the goals?

Several common liquids, such as water, rubbing alcohol, and club soda, will have solids such as salts, sand, and baking soda added to them to determine which solids dissolve in which liquids at room temperature. Based on the results of this investigation a data table will be prepared and the results potted on a series of graphs. A rule of thumb for solubility in solvents is "like dissolves like." This means that in general, polar compounds are soluble in polar solvents and non-polar compounds are soluble in non-polar solvents. One practical benefit of the results of this project is to prove or disprove this rule.

Research Questions:

• What is a solvent?
• What is a solute?
• Which solvent was able to dissolve most or all of the solutes?
• Which solute was the most soluble in the solvents tested?
• The term "universal solvent" means ability to dissolve most substances. Which solvent tested would fits this description?

Solutions are a special kind of mixture. Solubility is a term used to describe the amount of materials (solids, liquids, or gas) which can be dissolved in a solvent to make a solution. A solvent is the dissolving agent, e.g. water. A solute is a substance that is dissolved in a solution.

In this science fair project, solutions in which the solvent is a liquid will be investigated. Most liquid solvents are molecular compounds. Whether a compound will dissolve in a particular solvent depends on what that solvent is. The rule of thumb for solubility in molecular solvents is "like dissolves like." This means that in general, polar compounds (chemical compounds whose molecules exhibit electrically positive characteristics at one extremity and negative characteristics at the other) are soluble in polar solvents and non-polar compounds are soluble in nonpolar solvents. Water is an example of a polar solvent. Cooking oil is an example of a nonpolar solvent. Water is the most commonly used liquid solvent. It is sometimes called the "universal solvent" because it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid.

What materials are required?

Rubbing alcohol, club soda, cooking oil, table salt, baking soda, table sugar, Epsom salt, package of plastic drinking cups, coffee stirrers, metric measuring cup, clean playground or beach sand, and rubber or Latex disposable gloves

Where can the materials be found?

All of the items for this project can be a purchased locally at most major retail stores (Walmart, Target, dollar stores, etc).

Experimental Procedure:

• On a sheet of paper or with the use of a computer and printer draw a table similar to the one shown below.
• Using a graduated measuring cup, measure out 10 ml of water and pour into a cup.
• Measure out a teaspoon of table salt and add it to the cup of water and stir using a coffee stirrer.
• If all of the salt (solute) disappears then the solute is said to have dissolved in the solvent and a solution is produce. An insoluble solute will settle out of the mixture. Insoluble solutes are usually found at the bottom of the cup or floating on the surface of the liquid.
• Record the results of each test by writing the words "soluble" if the entire solid dissolves, "insoluble" if the solid does not dissolve, or "partially soluble" if some of the solid dissolves.
• In another clean cup add 10 ml of water, but this time add a teaspoon of sand and stir. Record the results in the table.
• Repeat the same procedure for the Epsom salt, baking soda, and sugar. Each time used a clean cup and coffee stirrer.
• Follow the same procedure with the rubbing alcohol, club water, and cooking oil in place of the water.

Terms/Concepts: Solution; solubility; solvent; solute; polar compound

References:

References to related books

Title: Janice VanCleave's Chemistry for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work

Author: Janice VanCleave

Publisher: Jossey-Bass. Inc. ISBN -10: 0471620858 and ISBN -13: 978-0471620853

This book contains many experiments design to be conducted by elementary and middle school science age children. It also explains basic chemistry concepts that will be useful in conducting this science fair project.

Links to related sites on the web

Title: Solubility of Salts

URL: http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/171solublesalts.html

Title: What is Solubility?

URL:  http://www.chemistryland.com/CHM107/Water/WaterTutorial.htm

NOTE : The Internet is dynamic; websites cited are subject to change without warning or notice!

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The effect of temperature on solubility

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Examine why some solid substances are more soluble in hot water than in cold water

Most solid substances that are soluble in water are more soluble in hot water than in cold water. This experiment examines solubility at various temperatures.

This experiment should take 60 minutes.

Equipment 

• Eye protection
• Boiling tubes
• Beaker to act as ice bath, 250 cm 3
• Beaker to act as a hot water bath, 250 cm 3
• Stirring thermometer (-10 –110 °C) 
• Measuring cylinder or graduated pipette, 250 cm 3
• Wooden tongs to hold hot boiling tube
• Ammonium chloride

Health, safety and technical notes

• Read our standard health and safety guidance
• Wear eye protection.
• Ammonium chloride is harmful if swallowed and an eye irritant, see CLEAPSS Hazcard HC009a .
• Set up a hot water bath and an ice bath. Put 2.6 g of ammonium chloride into the boiling tube. Add 4 cm 3 water.
• Warm the boiling tube in the hot water bath until the solid dissolves.
• Put the boiling tube in the ice bath and stir with the thermometer. Use wooden tongs to hold it if necessary.
• Note the temperature at which crystals first appear and record it in the table
• Add 1 cm 3 water. Warm the solution again, stirring until all the crystals dissolve.
• Then repeat the cooling and note the new temperature at which crystals appear.
• Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 until 10 cm 3 water has been used.

This is a good opportunity to introduce the use of quantitative chemical apparatus to younger students.

Students should know that solids are generally more soluble in hot water than in cold water.

• Plot a graph showing solubility on the vertical axis and temperature on the horizontal axis.

The effect of temperature on solubility - teacher notes

The effect of temperature on solubility - student sheet, additional information.

This practical is part of our  Classic chemistry experiments  collection.

• 11-14 years
• 14-16 years
• Practical experiments
• Properties of matter
• Physical chemistry

Specification

• (g) simple methods to determine solubility and produce solubility curves
• (h) the interpretation of solubility curves
• (g) concept of concentration and its expression in terms of grams or moles per unit volume (including solubility)
• 1.10.3b adding sodium hydroxide solution and warming to identify ammonium ion.
• 1.10.5 use starch to identify iodine.
• 2. Develop and use models to describe the nature of matter; demonstrate how they provide a simple way to to account for the conservation of mass, changes of state, physical change, chemical change, mixtures, and their separation.

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January 17, 2019

Solubility Science: How Much Is Too Much?

A saturating science project from Science Buddies

By Science Buddies & Svenja Lohner

Super saturation: Why do some substances dissolve better than others? Try your hand at some kitchen chemistry, and find out! 

George Retseck

Key concepts Chemistry Property of matter Solutions Solubility

Introduction Have you ever added a spoon of sugar to your tea and wondered why it disappeared? Where did it go? The sugar did not actually disappear—it changed from its solid form into a dissolved form in a process called chemical dissolution. The result is a tea–sugar solution in which individual sugar molecules become uniformly distributed in the tea. But what happens if you increase the amount of sugar that you add to your tea? Does it still dissolve? In this activity you will find out how much of a compound is too much to dissolve.

Background Chemistry is the study of matter and how it behaves and interacts with other kinds of matter. Everything around us is made of matter, and you can explore its properties using common chemicals around your home. The way it behaves is called a property of matter. One important property is called solubility. We think about solubility when we dissolve something in water or another liquid. If a chemical is soluble in water, then the chemical will dissolve or appear to vanish when you add it to water. If it is not soluble, or insoluble, then it will not dissolve and you will still see it floating around in the liquid or at the bottom of the container.

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When you dissolve a soluble chemical in water, you are making a solution. In a solution the chemical you add is called the solute and the liquid that it dissolves into is called the solvent. Whether a compound is soluble or not depends on its physical and chemical properties. To be able to dissolve, the chemical has to have the capability to interact with the solvent. During the process of chemical dissolution, the bonds that hold the solute together need to be broken and new bonds between the solute and solvent have to be formed. When adding sugar to water, for example, the water (solvent) molecules are attracted to the sugar (solute) molecules. Once the attraction becomes large enough the water is able to pull individual sugar molecules from the bulk sugar crystals into the solution. Usually the amount of energy it takes to break and form these bonds determines if a compound is soluble or not.

Generally, the amount of a chemical you can dissolve in a specific solvent is limited. At some point the solution becomes saturated. This means that if you add more of the compound, it will not dissolve anymore and will remain solid instead. This amount is dependent on molecular interactions between the solute and the solvent. In this activity you will investigate how much of various compounds you can dissolve in water. How do you think sugar and salt compare?

Distilled water

Measuring cup that measures milliliters

Eight glasses or cups that each hold eight ounces

Four spoons

Measuring spoon

Epsom salts (150 grams)

Table salt (50 grams)

Table sugar (cane sugar, 250 grams)

Baking soda (20 grams)

Scale that measures grams

Masking tape

Thermometer (optional)

Preparation

Using the marker and masking tape label two cups for each compound: “table salt,” “table sugar,” “baking soda” and “Epsom salts.”

Into one table salt cup measure 50 grams of salt.

Into one table sugar cup measure 250 grams of sugar.

Into one baking soda cup measure 20 grams of baking soda.

Into one Epsom salts cup measure 150 grams of Epsom salts.

For each cup weigh it and write down the mass (weight).

Add 100 milliliters of distilled water into each cup. Use the measuring cup to make sure each cup has the same amount of water. The water should be at room temperature and the same for all cups. You can use a thermometer to verify that.

Take both of the cups you labeled with table salt. With the measuring spoon carefully add one teaspoon of table salt to the 100 milliliters of distilled water.

Stir with a clean spoon until all the salt has dissolved. What do you notice when you add the salt to the water?

Keep adding one teaspoon of salt to the water and stirring each time, until the salt does not dissolve anymore. What happens when the salt does not dissolve anymore?

Repeat these steps with both cups labeled Epsom salts. At what point does the Epsom salts solution become saturated?

Repeat the steps with the baking soda. How many teaspoons of baking soda can you dissolve in the water?

Repeat the steps with the sugar. Did you add more or less sugar compared with the other compounds?

Put each of the cups containing the remaining solids onto the scale and write down the mass (weight) of each one. How much of each substance did you use?

Subtract the measured mass from your initial mass (see Preparation) for each compound. What does the difference in mass tell you about the solubilities of each of the compounds? Which compound is the most or least soluble in distilled water?

Extra: Does the solubility change if you use a different solvent? Repeat the test, but instead of using distilled water use rubbing alcohol, vegetable oil or nail polish remover as solvent. How does this change your results?

Extra: Can you find other substances or chemicals that you can dissolve in distilled water? How do their solubilities compare with the compounds you have tested?

Extra: Solubility of compounds is also highly dependent on the temperature of the solvent. Do you think you can dissolve more salt or sugar in hot or cold water? Test it to find out!

Observations and results Did all of your tested compounds dissolve in distilled water? They should have—but to different extents. Water in general is a very good solvent and is able to dissolve lots of different compounds. This is because it can interact with a lot of different molecules. You should have noticed sugar had the highest solubility of all your tested compounds (about 200 grams per 100 milliliters of water) followed by Epsom salts (about 115 grams/100 milliliters) table salt (about 35 grams/100 milliliters) and baking soda (almost 10 grams/100 milliliters).

This is because each of these compounds has different chemical and physical properties based on their different molecular structures. They are all made of different chemical elements and have been formed by different types of bonds. Depending on this structure it is more or less difficult for the water molecules to break these bonds and form new ones with the solute molecules in order to dissolve them into a solution.

Cleanup You can dispose of each of your solutions in the sink. Keep the water running for a while afterward to flush your sink properly. Dispose of all remaining solids in the regular trash. Wash your hands with water and soap.

More to explore Saturated Solutions: Measuring Solubility , from Science Buddies Salty Science: How to Separate Soluble Solutions , from Scientific American Solubility Science: How to Grow the Best Crystals , from Scientific American Science Activity for All Ages! , from Science Buddies

This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies

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Solubility and Complex-Ion Equilibria

Solubility Product

Common Ions and Complex Ions

Combined Equilibria

Why Do Some Solids Dissolve in Water?

The sugar we use to sweeten coffee or tea is a molecular solid , in which the individual molecules are held together by relatively weak intermolecular forces. When sugar dissolves in water, the weak bonds between the individual sucrose molecules are broken, and these C 12 H 22 O 11 molecules are released into solution.

It takes energy to break the bonds between the C 12 H 22 O 11 molecules in sucrose. It also takes energy to break the hydrogen bonds in water that must be disrupted to insert one of these sucrose molecules into solution. Sugar dissolves in water because energy is given off when the slightly polar sucrose molecules form intermolecular bonds with the polar water molecules. The weak bonds that form between the solute and the solvent compensate for the energy needed to disrupt the structure of both the pure solute and the solvent. In the case of sugar and water, this process works so well that up to 1800 grams of sucrose can dissolve in a liter of water.

Ionic solids (or salts) contain positive and negative ions, which are held together by the strong force of attraction between particles with opposite charges. When one of these solids dissolves in water, the ions that form the solid are released into solution, where they become associated with the polar solvent molecules.

We can generally assume that salts dissociate into their ions when they dissolve in water. Ionic compounds dissolve in water if the energy given off when the ions interact with water molecules compensates for the energy needed to break the ionic bonds in the solid and the energy required to separate the water molecules so that the ions can be inserted into solution.

Solubility Equilibria

Discussions of solubility equilibria are based on the following assumption: When solids dissolve in water, they dissociate to give the elementary particles from which they are formed . Thus, molecular solids dissociate to give individual molecules

and ionic solids dissociate to give solutions of the positive and negative ions they contain.

When the salt is first added, it dissolves and dissociates rapidly. The conductivity of the solution therefore increases rapidly at first.

The concentrations of these ions soon become large enough that the reverse reaction starts to compete with the forward reaction, which leads to a decrease in the rate at which Na + and Cl - ions enter the solution.

Eventually, the Na + and Cl - ion concentrations become large enough that the rate at which precipitation occurs exactly balances the rate at which NaCl dissolves. Once that happens, there is no change in the concentration of these ions with time and the reaction is at equilibrium. When this system reaches equilibrium it is called a saturated solution , because it contains the maximum concentration of ions that can exist in equilibrium with the solid salt. The amount of salt that must be added to a given volume of solvent to form a saturated solution is called the solubility of the salt.

Solubility Rules

• A salt is soluble if it dissolves in water to give a solution with a concentration of at least 0.1 moles per liter at room temperature.
• A salt is insoluble if the concentration of an aqueous solution is less than 0.001 M at room temperature.
• Slightly soluble salts give solutions that fall between these extremes.

Solubility Rules for Ionic Compounds in Water

Soluble Salts 1. The Na + , K + , and NH 4 + ions form soluble salts . Thus, NaCl, KNO 3 , (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , Na 2 S, and (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 are soluble. 2. The nitrate (NO 3 - ) ion forms soluble salts . Thus, Cu(NO 3 ) 2 and Fe(NO 3 ) 3 are soluble. 3. The chloride (Cl - ), bromide (Br - ), and iodide (I - ) ions generally form soluble salts . Exceptions to this rule include salts of the Pb 2+ , Hg 2 2+ , Ag + , and Cu + ions. ZnCl 2 is soluble, but CuBr is not. 4. The sulfate (SO 4 2- ) ion generally forms soluble salts . Exceptions include BaSO 4 , SrSO 4 , and PbSO 4 , which are insoluble, and Ag 2 SO 4 , CaSO 4 , and Hg 2 SO 4 , which are slightly soluble. Insoluble Salts 1. Sulfides (S 2- ) are usually insoluble . Exceptions include Na 2 S, K 2 S, (NH 4 ) 2 S, MgS, CaS, SrS, and BaS. 2. Oxides (O 2- ) are usually insoluble . Exceptions include Na 2 O, K 2 O, SrO, and BaO, which are soluble, and CaO, which is slightly soluble. 3. Hydroxides (OH - ) are usually insoluble . Exceptions include NaOH, KOH, Sr(OH) 2 , and Ba(OH) 2 , which are soluble, and Ca(OH) 2 , which is slightly soluble. 4. Chromates (CrO 4 2- ) are usually insoluble . Exceptions include Na 2 CrO 4 , K 2 CrO 4 , (NH 4 ) 2 CrO 4 , and MgCrO 4 . 5. Phosphates (PO 4 3- ) and carbonates (CO 3 2- ) are usually insoluble . Exceptions include salts of the Na + , K + , and NH 4 + ions.

Science Experiments on Solubility

Many of the substances people use daily, including shampoo, gasoline and milk, are mixtures. When mixtures are homogenous, meaning the particles of each substance are mixed evenly, they create a solution. Solutions form when the attraction between the solute, a substance that dissolves, and solvent, a substance like water that does the dissolving, is greater than the particles that make up the solute. Solubility measures the amount of a solute that can dissolve in a solvent.

Saturated Solutions

Introduce solubility by testing how much a solute dissolves in water before the solution becomes too saturated. This type of experiment introduces aqueous solutions, or solutions of a substance dissolved in water, to students. The experiment can also spark a discussion about why water is able to dissolve so many substances; the attraction between water and the solute is greater than the particles of the solute. The scientific method dictates you must include a hypothesis; for example, predicting that more of one solute will dissolve than another substance. To test your hypothesis, measure 1 cup each of table salt, Epsom salt and sugar, placing each substance in a separate container. Prepare three plastic cups with 1/2 cup of distilled water each. Add 1 teaspoon of table salt to one plastic cup and stir to dissolve. Continue adding table salt to this cup in small increments until the solute will no longer dissolve. Weigh the remaining salt and subtract from the initial cup to find the amount that remains. Repeat the steps with the Epsom salt as well as sugar. Compare how much of each solute was dissolved to determine if your hypothesis was correct. You should find that some crystals of each substance remain floating in the water because the water is already saturated.

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Science experiments on evaporation for kids in seventh grade, science experiments with purple cabbage, a simple ph experiment to do in a class, effects of acetone on plastic, chemistry experiments with baking soda & hydrochloric acid, testing various solvents.

Water isn't the only liquid that will dissolve solids like salt and sugar. Water is considered the universal solvent because the electrical charge of its molecules attract other substances, but students might wonder if other liquids also attract and dissolve solids. Test water, rubbing alcohol, club soda, cooking oil and nail polish to determine which one is the best solvent. Create your hypothesis; for example, that nail polish will dissolve more solutes and cooking oil will be the most ineffective solvent. Prepare plastic cups with 2 teaspoons of each liquid. Measure and add 1 teaspoon of salt to each liquid and stir for 10 to 30 seconds. Record results, indicating if the salt dissolved completely, partially or not at all. Repeat the experiment with other solutes like baking soda, sugar and sand to determine if multiple substances can dissolve in particular solvents.

Results and Explanations

You will find that water is the best solvent, and heavier liquids like cooking oil are the worst. Some salt will dissolve in alcohol, but since the polarity of alcohol is not as strong as water, it is not as good a solvent. Club soda will likely dissolve more than alcohol because it contains water, but the soda is also somewhat saturated with carbon dioxide. This experiment also shows that "like dissolves like," so while salt dissolves in water because they are both polar compounds, salt will not dissolve in organic compounds like nail polish. Examine your results to see if your hypothesis was correct .

Temperature and Solubility

A common hypothesis states that hot water will dissolve more solute than cold water. Use this experiment to determine if temperature has any effect on solubility. Add a 1/2 cup of lukewarm tap water to a plastic cup. Weigh about 5 tablespoons of salt and gradually add the salt to the tap water, stirring to mix. Stop adding salt when it no longer dissolves. Repeat the mixing steps with 1/2 cup each of ice water and hot water; determine at which temperature more salt dissolves. This experiment proves that the solubility of some substances is dependent on temperature, and you will notice much more salt dissolves in hot water than in cold.

Peeps Solubility

In 1996, scholars James Zimring and Gary Falcon examined the solubility of Peeps, the bird-shaped marshmallow candy. You can duplicate a similar experiment and hypothesize that the candy is not soluble in water but will dissolve in acetone, or nail polish remover. Fill four plastic cups with 1 cup each of water, acetone, vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Submerge one Peeps candy in each liquid and observe every 20 minutes for an hour. Write down your observations. This experiment demonstrates to students the difference between what is expected versus the outcome. Many students think that candy is made from sugar, and since they know sugar will dissolve in liquids like water, they believe the candy will dissolve. The candy doesn't dissolve in any of these liquids. From these results, students can determine that the candy must be made up of other substances resistant to dissolving in liquids.

• Science Buddies: Saturated Solutions: Measuring Solubility
• Education.com: To Test the Solubility of Common Liquid Solvents
• Peep Research: Solubility Testing

Cara Batema is a musician, teacher and writer who specializes in early childhood, special needs and psychology. Since 2010, Batema has been an active writer in the fields of education, parenting, science and health. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and creative writing.

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Have you ever wondered why some substances dissolve in water while others don’t? This activity visually demonstrates the science behind solubility.

Have you ever wondered why some substances dissolve in water while others don’t? The answer: solubility.

Solubility is the ability of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance (or solute) to dissolve in a solvent (usually a liquid) and form a homogenous solution. There are three factors that affect solubility:

• Solvent: To determine whether a solute will dissolve in a solvent, remember this saying: “Like dissolves like.”
• Temperature: This factor affects the solubility of both solids and gases, with solubility increasing with the temperature.
• Pressure: This factor affects the solubility of gases, with solubility also increasing with pressure.

The Science Behind Solubility

Put simply, a substance is considered to be soluble if it can be dissolved, most commonly in water. When a solute, such as table salt, is added to a solvent, such as water, the salt’s molecular bonds are broken before combining with the water, causing the salt to dissolve.

However, for the salt to remain soluble and dissolve completely, there must be a larger concentration of water than salt in the solution. A solution becomes saturated when the solvent can dissolve no more solute. But adding heat or pressure can help to increase the solubility of the solute, depending on its state.

Check out Chemistry Rocks! 3 Simple Science Experiments To Teach Students Chemistry for more activity ideas!

Testing the Solubility of Substances

For this experiment, your students will explore basic chemistry concepts by testing the solubility of different substances in water. From the example above, we know that table salt is highly soluble in water. What other substances can dissolve in water?

What You Need

• Clear containers, such as cups, beakers, or bowls
• Materials to test, such as sugar, sand, chalk, baking soda and Epsom salts
• Stirring rods
• Measuring spoon
• STEM journals (optional)
• Begin by discussing the science of solubility, and have students write down their predictions about which materials are soluble or insoluble. Students can also document the scientific process in their STEM journals.
• Fill each container with lukewarm tap water.
• Add a specific amount—for example, 1 tablespoon—of a test material to a container using the measuring spoon. Repeat, adding an equal amount of a different material to each container of water.
• Use the stirring rods to mix the contents in each container.
• Observe which materials dissolved in the water and which did not. Did students make the right predictions?

Discussion Questions

Once the experiment is complete, use the following questions to deepen students’ understanding of solubility and how it works:

• What are the qualities of the soluble materials versus those of the insoluble materials? For example, the soluble materials are likely powdery and dry, while insoluble materials may have a hard, grainy texture.
• For the materials that dissolved in the water, what do you think will happen if you keep adding more to the water?
• What are other examples of soluble substances?
• What are other examples of insoluble substances?

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A Novel Approach for Solubility and Bioavailability Enhancement of Canthaxanthin Obtained from Dietzia natronolimnaea HS-1 by Canthaxanthin-V-Amylose Complex

• Published: 16 September 2024

Cite this article

• Sara Bahrololoumi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3624-1848 1 ,
• Ehsan Divan Khosroshahi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2547-4435 1 ,
• Seyed Hadi Razavi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5815-4411 1 &
• Hossein Kiani   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0432-2336 1  

In this study, a water dispersible delivery system of canthaxanthin as a lipophilic keto-carotenoid pigment was developed by entrapping microbial canthaxanthin in the hydrophobic inner surface of V-amylose helix. The highest recovery yields of canthaxanthin and V-amylose from complex were observed with 20 mg of canthaxanthin and 400 mg of V-amylose. DLS analysis showed that the hydrodynamic diameter of the particles was reduced by ultrasonication to 244 nm. TEM analysis also demonstrated that particles resemble spherical or oval shape after ultrasonication. The powder dispersion remained stable after 1 month. XRD diffractograms represented the amorph structure of complex despite the crystalline structure of pure canthaxanthin, and DSC curves showed the same melting point of complex and V-amylose, both showing the change of canthaxanthin structure to amorph in the encapsulation process, indicating the complete entrapment of canthaxanthin in V-amylose helices. Oxidation stability analysis of the complex revealed an increase in the oxidation resistance of canthaxanthin. Analysis of both ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activity by the complex showed that this feature was concentration dependent. According to the obtained results, this method is a promising way to be utilized for expanding the use of canthaxanthin in food and pharmaceutical applications with improved solubility and bioavailability.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory (BPEL) of the University of Tehran which provided all the resources needed for our research to be successful. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the laboratory assistants for their inspiration and moral support.

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Sara Bahrololoumi, Ehsan Divan Khosroshahi, Seyed Hadi Razavi & Hossein Kiani

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Sara Bahrololoumi and Ehssan Divan Khosroshahi performed the experiments; analyzed data and wrote the main manuscript text and Seyed Hadi Razavi designed and directed the project, collaborated in data analysis and edited the manuscript and Hossein Kiani advised on the project and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

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Bahrololoumi, S., Khosroshahi, E.D., Razavi, S.H. et al. A Novel Approach for Solubility and Bioavailability Enhancement of Canthaxanthin Obtained from Dietzia natronolimnaea HS-1 by Canthaxanthin-V-Amylose Complex. Food Bioprocess Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-024-03584-w

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Received : 06 May 2024

Accepted : 23 August 2024

Published : 16 September 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-024-03584-w

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