Equilibrium of Solids

The Solubility Product Principle

SOLUBILITY EQUILIBRIA
(The Solubility-Product Constant, Ksp)

Well– I have good news and bad news for

you…which do you want first???
The bad news:
You know all those solubility rules that
state a substance is ________? Insoluble
substances are actually a little bit soluble
after all…
◦ Only the future attorneys among you read the
fine print. Soluble is often defined as
“greater than __grams dissolving in ____
mL of water”. So, there is a lot of wiggle room
for solubility up to 3 grams! This type of
equilibria deals with that wiggle room.
Sorry for “lying” to you…You just couldn’t
handle the truth at that time!
The good news:

Solubility equilibrium is really a

simple extension of ________
equilibrium.
Precipitates
In reality:
◦ a salt that is insoluble, which is evidenced by
forming a solid, (___________), when two
solutions are mixed just means that the
solution is very saturated.

Precipitates
form when the solution is
________________!
________: the amount of compound
that dissolves in a specified volume.
Usually expressed as grams per Liter or
grams per 100 mL

________________: number of moles

of a compound that dissolve to give 1
Liter of saturated solution.
________________________:
for a compound it is the product of the
concentrations of its ions each raised to a
power that corresponds to the number of
ions formed.

Ksp chart is Table B.10 in your books

Works just like Kc and Kp

Ex. 1) a. What is the solubility product
expression for the dissociation of calcium
carbonate?
(Ksp = solubility product constant.)
b. For aluminum fluoride?
c. For barium nitride?
Calculating Ksp from Solubility
Ex. 2) Copper(I) bromide has a measured
solubility of 2.0 × 10−4 mol/L at 25°C.
Calculate its Ksp value.
Ex. 3) Copper(II) hydroxide has a
Ksp = 1.6x10-19
a) Calculate the molar solubility
b) Find the concentrations of the
constituent ions
c) Solve for the solubility in grams per liter
of the copper(II) hydroxide
Ex. 4) Find [S2-] in saturated iron(III) sulfide
Ksp = 1.40x10-88
 SOLUBILITY AND THE
COMMON ION EFFECT
________________________: the
solubility of a compound is less in a
solution that contains an ion common to
the compound than it is in pure water.

Experiments show that the solubility of any

salt is always less in the presence of a
“common ion”.
◦ Why? LeChâtelier’s Principle! Adding solids does
not shift the equilibrium but you can always
make more solids when reestablishing
equilibrium.
Would magnesium hydroxide (milk of
magnesia) be more soluble in magnesium
chloride or water? Why?

Mg(OH)2(s)  Mg2+(aq) + 2 OH−(aq)

SOLUBILITY AND pH
The pH can also affect solubility. Evaluate
the equation to see which species reacts
with the addition of acid or base.

Would magnesium hydroxide be more

soluble in an acid or a base? Why?

Mg(OH)2(s)  Mg2+(aq) + 2 OH−(aq)

Ex. 5) If 0.750 M FeI3 is added to Ex. 4.
What is the final concentration of iron and
sulfur ions?
Ex. 6)
a. Calculate the molar solubility and ion
concentrations of aluminum fluoride in pure
water and its solubility in grams per 100 mL.
Ksp = 6.4 x 10-19
b. Using the common ion effect, find the molar
solubility of AlF3 in 0.20 M potassium fluoride
solution along with the ion concentrations.
c. Compare the two molar solubilities.
Ex. 7) What is the solubility product
constant if 0.477 g of silver dichromate is
dissolved in a one liter solution?
________________________: a
separation process that removes some
ions from solution while leaving other ions
with similar properties in the solution.
Ex. 8) Solid silver nitrate is slowly added to
a solution that is 0.010 M each in sodium
bromide and sodium iodide.
a) Calculate the [Ag+ ] required to initiate
the precipitation of each silver halide.
b) Which precipitates first?
For AgBr: Ksp = 3.3 x 10-13
For AgI: Ksp = 1.5 x 10-16
c) The Ksp = 1.8 x 10-10 for AgCl. Compare
that to AgBr and AgI to determine which
would precipitate last.
Ex. 9) Using your answer from #8, find the
percentage of Iodine ions that precipitated
before silver bromide precipitates.
Ex. 10) How many moles of bismuth(III)
hydroxide will dissolve in 1.00 L of a
solution with a pH=4.77 Ksp = 3.2x10-40
Reaction Quotient in Precipitation
Reactions
If Qsp < Ksp _______________________
◦ No precipitation occurs; if solid is present, more
solid can dissolve (________________)

If Qsp = Ksp _______________________

◦ Solid and solution are in equilibrium; neither
forward nor reverse process is favored.

If Qsp > Ksp _______________________

◦ Precipitation occurs to form more solid
(________________)