Answer to Question #164404 in Chemistry for Phyroe

Question

Give an explanations for the fact that polar solids have a limit to their solubilities in water, whereas polar liquids may be miscible in all proportions?

Answer 1

Each polar solid is characterized by a certain level of sollubility - a maximum amount of solute that will dissolve in a given amount of solvent at a specified temperature and pressure. A solvent is soluble if all atoms or molecules that form a solute interact with solvent molecules (i.e., water). However, too many particles of the solute may occupy all possible interactions with solvent. Additional solid particles will not dissolve as there are no free solvent molecules. This is a limit to the sollubility of polar solids in water. In contrast, polar liquids interact with water molecules and with their own molecules. As these interactions are interchangeable, there is no sollubility limit for polar liquids.