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A water molecule is polar. The oxygen atom (red) has a partial negative charge (!), and each hydrogen atom (white) has a partial positive charge (!+).
What does this have to do with solubility? When other ionic compound: a polar molecules or ionic compounds are mixed with compound formed water, their positively charged components are attracted between a negatively to the oxygen atoms in water molecules, and their charged ion and a positively charged ion negatively charged components are attracted to the hydrogen atoms in water molecules. (Ions are particles with electric charges.) The chemical bonds joining some compounds are strong enough to withstand the attractive forces from water molecules. Other compounds, however, are broken apart. This is what happens when a substance dissolves. In contrast, nonpolar substances such as vegetable oil do not dissolve in water. Instead, the denser substance sinks beneath the less dense substance.
Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a strong electrolyte. When NaCl dissolves in water, the sodium ions (Na+) and chloride ions (Cl) separate from each other. The ions disperse evenly throughout the water, which becomes an electrolytic solution. Here is the chemical equation to describe sodium chloride dissolving in water:
H2O NaCl(s ) """ # Na+ (aq ) + Cl! (aq )
If an electrolytic solution is connected to the conductivity meter, electric current will flow to the bulb and produce light. If a nonelectrolytic solution is connected to the meter, the light bulb will not turn on.
In contrast, substances such as ethanol (C2H5OH) and normal table sugar, or sucrose (C12H22O11) are nonelectrolytes. A granule of sugar large enough for us to see consists of many individual sugar molecules joined together. When sucrose dissolves in water, the connections between the different sugar molecules are what break apart, not the sugar molecules themselves. The resulting solution contains evenly dispersed water and sugar molecules. Because ions are not produced, the solution does not conduct electricity. Here is the chemical equation to describe sucrose dissolving:
H2O C12H22O11(s ) !!! " C12H22O11(aq )
Look Out!
Do not confuse molecules that are polar and compounds that are electrolytes. Polar molecules have partial chargesone end is partly positive, and one end is partly negativebut they are not composed of ions, which have full positive or negative charges. Like electrolytes, polar molecules dissolve in water. Unlike electrolytes, however, polar molecules do not break apart into ions when they dissolve, and so they do not produce electrolytic solutions. For example, table sugar is a polar molecule that dissolves in water and is a nonelectrolyte. In contrast, table salt is an ionic compound that dissolves in water and is an electrolyte.
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In an unsaturated solution (A), more solute will dissolve in the solvent. In a saturated solution (B), no more solute will dissolve in the solvent. In a supersaturated solution (C), additional solute has precipitated out of solution to form crystals.
The speed at which a solute dissolves in a solventor the rate of dissolution depends on three factors: the temperature of the solution, the agitation (or mixing) of the solution, and the surface area of the solute. If any of these three factors change, the rate of dissolution changes. Surface Area: When the surface area of a solute increases, the dissolution rate also increases. Suppose you had a spoonful of sugar granules and the same amount of sugar pressed into a cube. The spoonful of sugar has a greater total surface area than the cube, because each granule in the spoonful contacts the solvent separately. So, the spoonful of sugar will dissolve at a faster rate than the sugar cube.
A spoonful of sugar granules (left) has a greater surface area than sugar cubes (right), and a faster dissolution rate.