Experiment #1 / Unit 10

Solubility Curve of Potassium Nitrate

Introduction:
A key factor affecting the solubility of a substance – how much solute can be
dissolved in a given volume of solvent – is temperature. For most ionic solids an
increase in temperature will increase solubility; i.e. more solute will be able to dissolve
in the same volume of solvent.
A solubility curve illustrates how the solubility of a substance varies with
temperature. By determining the mass of solute that can be dissolved in a known
volume of solvent under a variety of temperatures we can easily construct a solubility
curve. In this lab you will construct a solubility curve for an ionic compound, KNO 3,
using your own experimental data and that of other groups in your class.

Procedure:
1. Start a hot water bath using the hotplate and the beaker of water at your bench.
Heat the water to approximately 70˚C.
2. Obtain a pre-massed test tube containing 5.0 mL (5.0 g) of water plus X.X g KNO 3.
The number of grams of KNO3 is written on the tube. Record the number of grams
of KNO3 in your tube in the data section.
3. Heat the test tube in the water bath and stir until all the salt is dissolved.
4. Attach the tube to the ringstand with the clamp and insert your thermometer into the
solution. Allow the solution to cool in the air. Stir occasionally by twirling the
thermometer. Watch carefully! When salt crystals first appear, record the
temperature. This is the saturation temperature for your mass of KNO 3.
5. Make a second determination by repeating Steps 3 & 4 above. If the two
temperatures do not agree within 3˚C, repeat a third time (if time allows).
6. Average your two (or 3) temperatures, then record your data on the class data
sheet. Copy the class data onto your data table.
7. CLEAN UP: Place labeled test tube (KNO 3 + H2O) back in the rack (we will re-use
these samples!). Hot plate should be turned off. Beaker of water should be left on
hot plate for next class.
8. Construct the solubility curve for KNO3 using the class data and the attached graph
paper. Be sure to label axes with units and scale. You should add this additional
data to your curve:
 Solubility of KNO3 at 0˚C: 13 g/100 g H2O
 Solubility of KNO3 at 100˚C: 247 g/100 g H2O  Note: These data are per
100 g H2O, not 5 g H2O like
Data: your test tube! I would
 Mass of KNO3 in your test tube suggest converting your data
 Volume of H2O in test tube to units of g KNO3/100 g H2O
 Saturation temperature for all 6 test tubes (class data) before graphing to make it
(copy class data) easier to answer the questions
that follow.

Chemistry Raleigh Charter High School Dr. Genez

Questions:
1. Based on your solubility curve, predict the solubility of KNO 3 at 45˚C in units of
(a) g KNO3 per 5 g H2O
(b) g KNO3 per 100 g H2O
2. Find the accepted value for the solubility of KNO 3 at 45˚C and determine the percent
error of your experimental value.
3. If the total volume of your solution was 6.8 mL, what is the molarity (M) of the KNO 3
solution at 45˚C?
4. Based on your solubility curve, describe the following solutions as saturated,
unsaturated, or supersaturated:
(a) 70 g / 100 g H2O at 45˚C
(b) 80 g / 100 g H2O at 70˚C
(c) 80 g / 100 g H2O at 30˚C
5. Based on your KNO3 solubility curve, if you dissolved 80 g KNO3 in 100 g H2O at
60˚C and then cooled the solution to 30˚C, what would you expect to happen?
6. Answer the following questions using the graph of solubility curves on your
notesheet.
(a) What is the solubility of NaCl at 10˚C?
(b) For which salt on the graph does solubility change most with changing
temperature?
(c) Which salt shows an unusual dependence on temperature for solubility?
(d) At what temperature will a solution with 60 g NH4Cl in 100 g H2O be
saturated?
(e) Which substance on the graph is least soluble at 30˚C? Most soluble at
30˚C?
(f) How many grams of NaNO3 will dissolve in 200 g of H2O at 50˚C?
7. Describe the process by which water dissolves an ionic compound. Include a
discussion of both dissociation and hydration.

Extra credit:
1. What is the molality (m) of a saturated solution of KNO3 at 45˚C?

Lab Report #10.1:

 title page
 procedure sheet
 data
 graph (solubility curve)
 questions

Chemistry Raleigh Charter High School Dr. Genez