Solubility Experiment Overview

Introduction

• Presenter: Haley
• Experiment: Comparing solubility of table salt (sodium chloride) and table sugar (sucrose).
• Key Concept: Solubility - the rate at which a substance dissolves.

Definitions

• Solute: Substance that gets dissolved (in this case, sugar and salt).
• Solvent: Substance that does the dissolving (in this case, water).
• Ksp: Solubility Product Constant, a measure of solubility.

Safety Precautions

• Hair tied back, sleeves rolled up, goggles on.

Experiment Setup

• Materials:
  • 4 cups of water (2 at room temperature, 2 heated)
  • Mixing spoons (one for salt, one for sugar)
  • Bowls for salt and sugar

Experiment Steps

1. Room Temperature Water:

   • Start with salt:
     • Add 1 teaspoon of salt, mix until dissolved.
     • Observe: Solution becomes cloudy, no floaters at the bottom = saturated solution.
     • Add more teaspoons until reaching super saturated state.
   • Record: At 3 teaspoons, some salt remains undissolved.

2. Heated Water:

   • Repeat with heated water:
     • Add 1 teaspoon of salt, dissolves quickly without much mixing.
     • Continue adding teaspoons until super saturated state.
     • Result: More salt dissolves than in room temperature due to increased solubility from heat.

3. Sugar in Room Temperature Water:

   • Add 1 teaspoon of sugar:
     • Observations: Sugar dissolves slower than salt, remains cloudy, some particles at the bottom.
     • Add more teaspoons until super saturated.
   • Result: Sugar does not dissolve as well as salt.

4. Sugar in Heated Water:

   • Add 1 teaspoon of sugar:
     • Dissolves better than in room temperature water but not as well as salt.
     • Continue adding teaspoons; observe clarity as it dissolves.
   • Record: Third teaspoon still dissolved, but reaching saturation point.

Conclusion

• Comparison:
  • Salt: Dissolves more quickly and effectively than sugar in both room temperature and heated water.
  • Sugar's solubility improves with heat but remains less than that of salt.
• Final Observations: Differences in solubility explained by differing Ksp values of salt and sugar.