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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Solubility?

Definition 9.5 School Chemistry — Grades 1 to 12 · Chapter 9 — Solutions and Solubility

The solubility of a solute in a solvent is the largest mass of solute that a given amount of solvent can dissolve, at a given temperature. For a solid in water it is often given in grams per litre (or per kilogram) of water.

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Definition 11.4 University Chemistry — Year 1 · Chapter 11 — Precipitation and Solubility

The solubility ss of a solid in a given solution is the amount of solid that dissolves in one litre of that solution until saturation (in mol/L\mathrm{mol}/\mathrm{L}); multiplied by the molar mass, it is the mass solubility, in g/L\mathrm{g}/\mathrm{L}. It depends on the temperature and on the composition of the solution.

Examples

Example 11.6 (Silver chloride and silver chromate)

Silver chloride: s=10−9.75/2=1.3×10−5 mol/Ls = 10^{-9.75/2} = 1.3 \times 10^{-5}\,\mathrm{mol}/\mathrm{L}, or 1.9 mg/L1.9\,\mathrm{mg}/\mathrm{L} with M=143.4 g/molM = 143.4\,\mathrm{g}/\mathrm{mol}. Silver chromate AgX2CrOX4\ce{Ag2CrO4} (pKs=11.95\mathrm{p}K_s = 11.95): s=(10−11.95/4)1/3=6.6×10−5 mol/Ls = (10^{-11.95}/4)^{1/3} = 6.6 \times 10^{-5}\,\mathrm{mol}/\mathrm{L}. The chromate has the smaller KsK_s and yet is five times more soluble. Solubility products can be compared directly only between solids of the same formula type.

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