Solubility: why some substances mix
Solubility depends on a balance of solute-solvent interactions and the interactions that must be disrupted within each substance. 'Like dissolves like' is useful but incomplete.
Understand before calculating
Solubility depends on a balance of solute-solvent interactions and the interactions that must be disrupted within each substance. 'Like dissolves like' is useful but incomplete.
Example
Salt dissolves in water partly because of ion-dipole interactions, while it dissolves very poorly in many nonpolar solvents.
The classic trap
Do not turn a model into a literal photograph of reality. Scientific models select particular properties to explain or predict a phenomenon; knowing their limits is part of using them correctly.
Understanding check
Explain the concept to someone who knows the periodic table but not this chapter. Then give one example and one situation where the most common shortcut would become misleading.
Salt dissolves in water partly because of ion-dipole interactions, while it dissolves very poorly in many nonpolar solvents.