Investigating the solubility of Magnesium Sulfate

Magnesium sulfate is a white solid that dissolves in water.

Aim: Alice is doing an experiment to see how changing the temperature affects
the number of spatulas of magnesium sulfate that dissolve in 10cm 3 of water.

Variables Magnesium sulfate solid

In this experiment, what is…

The independent variable? __________________________________________________________________

The dependent variable? ___________________________________________________________________

What things will you need to keep the same (the control variables) in order to make this a fair test?

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Method
Alice has written the following method for this experiment:

1. Put some water in a cup.

2. Add magnesium sulfate until it stops dissolving.
3. Do it again at different temperatures.

Alice’s method will not allow her to collect accurate and reliable results. Think about what improvements Alice could
make to her method. Write an improved method below.

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Results
Complete the practical as above.
Use the table below to record your results:

Temperature (°C) Number of spatulas of magnesium sulfate added

Graph
Plot a graph of your results. Your independent variable should go on the x-axis.

Conclusion
Write a one sentence conclusion to summarise what Alice found out in this experiment.

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