Solubility Science: How Much is Too Much?

This feature requires that you be logged in as a Google Classroom teacher and that you have an active class in Google Classroom.

If you are a Google Classroom teacher, please log in now.

For additional information about using Science Buddies with Google Classroom, see our FAQ.

Here's how.

Active Time

20-30 minutes

Total Project Time

20-30 minutes

Key Concepts

Chemistry, property of matter, solutions, solubility

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nEH2XlcJt8

Introduction

Have you ever added a spoon of sugar to your tea and wondered why it disappeared? Where did it go? The sugar did not actually disappear—it changed from its solid form into a dissolved form in a process called chemical dissolution. The result is a tea-sugar mixture in which individual sugar molecules become uniformly distributed in the tea. But what happens if you increase the amount of sugar that you add to your tea? Does it still dissolve? In this science activity, you will find out how much of a compound is too much to dissolve.

Credits

Svenja Lohner, PhD, Science Buddies

This activity is not appropriate for use as a science fair project. Good science fair projects have a stronger focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data. To find a science fair project that is just right for you, browse our library of over 1,200 Science Fair Project Ideas or use the Topic Selection Wizard to get a personalized project recommendation.

Next: Materials

Materials

Distilled water, found in the bottled water section of grocery stores.
Note: You can also use tap water. However, as tap water contains additional ions that have been removed in distilled water, your solubility values may not match the published solubility values.
Measuring cup
Glasses or cups, 8 oz. (8)
Spoons (4)
Measuring spoon (1 teaspoon)
Epsom salt (150 g)
Table salt (50 g)
Table sugar (cane sugar) (250 g)
Baking soda (20 g)
Scale
Marker
Paper
Pen
Optional: thermometer

$item.AriaDescription