kids encyclopedia robot

Solubility facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Chemical precipitation diagram
Example for a dissolved solid (left)
Crystals ammonium sulfate
Formation of crystals in a 4.2 M ammonium sulfate solution. The solution was initially prepared at 20 °C and then stored for 2 days at 4 °C.

Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid or gaseous solvent..

It measures the highest amount of substance mixed into a liquid solvent while they are both at equal amounts.

When the two mix together it is called a saturated solution. Certain substances can mix into any amount of a liquid solvent. An example of this is ethanol in water. This process is better described as "miscible" (the ability to mix with one another). Solubility does not depend on the size, in fact even the large particles will eventually all dissolve.

A solute is a substance that is dissolving in a solvent and is the smaller part of the solution. A solvent is the bigger part of a solution and is the substance that the solute dissolves in.

Insolubility is the inability to dissolve in a solid, liquid or gaseous solvent.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Solubilidad para niños

kids search engine
Solubility Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.