Solubility

Solubility is a measure of a solute's ability to dissolve in a solvent. Different solutes have different solubilities. For example, sodium chloride has a solubility of 39 grams in 100 milliliters of water, while silver chloride is only 0.002 grams.

So why is this? Solubility depends on the physical and chemical properties of both the solute and solvent. You've seen this yourself. For example, you know that butter doesn't dissolve in water, but it does dissolve in olive oil.

The term 'like dissolves like' reminds us that a solvent dissolves a solute with a similar polarity. So polar solvents dissolve polar solutes, while non-polar solvents dissolve non-polar solutes. In addition, we can influence solubility through other factors like pH, temperature, and pressure.

For example, solubility typically increases with increasing temperature. Think about dissolving sugar in iced coffee versus hot coffee. Now, if a solute does dissolve in a solvent, only so much can be dissolved. When this limit is reached, the dissociated ions are in equilibrium with the solid and the solution is saturated. This means that if you add more of the solute, it won't dissolve.

We can quantify this equilibrium u