How does solubility of solid and gaseous solutes vary with temperature?
Answers
Explanation:
For many solids dissolved in liquid water, the solubility increases with temperature.
The increase in kinetic energy that comes with higher temperatures allows the solvent molecules to more effectively break apart the solute molecules that are held together by intermolecular attractions.
The increased vibration (kinetic energy) of the solute molecules causes them to dissolve more readily because they are less able to hold together.
Key Terms
solubility: The amount of a substance that will dissolve in a given amount of a solvent to give a saturated solution under specified conditions.
kinetic energy: The energy possessed by an object because of its motion, equal to one half the mass of the body times the square of its velocity.
Solid Solubility and Temperature
The solubility of a given solute in a given solvent typically depends on temperature. Many salts show a large increase in solubility with temperature. Some solutes exhibit solubility that is fairly independent of temperature. A few, such as cerium(III) sulfate, become less soluble in water as temperature increases. This temperature dependence is sometimes referred to as retrograde or inverse solubility, and exists when a salt’s dissolution is exothermic; this can be explained because, according to Le Chatelier’s principle, extra heat will cause the equilibrium for an exothermic process to shift towards the reactants.