Solubility in Systems

Solid Solutions

Solubility in Systems

Learning Target 3.4.1: I can explain the role of solubility of solids, liquids and gases in natural and designed systems.

Solid Solutions

Goal 3.4.1.f: I can describe a solid solution and give examples.

Goal 3.4.1.g: I can use real world examples to explain the relevance of solution solubility.

In the previous lesson (Solutions) you were introduced to the fact that there are many types of solutions. It is likely that in this class most of the solutions you will use will be liquid solutions (liquids dissolved in liquids or solids dissolved in liquids). We have also talked about solutions with gas solutes dissolved in liquid solvents (i.e. soda pop). But, solutions can also be gas solutes dissolved in gas solvents (air), solid solutes dissolved in solid solvents (brass), or gas solutes dissolved in solid solvent (hydrogen in platinum). See Table 3.3.1^[1] for more examples.

Table 3.3.1 Types of Solutions

In the last section of this lesson, we will talk about alloys, which are solid solutions made by melting two or more solids together. One of the solids has to be a metal, and the other can be either a metal or a nonmetal. When the solids cool, they crystallize into a new solid solution.^[2] One examples of an alloys (aka solid solutions) is brass. There are many more examples of alloys with extensive uses as shown in Table 2 below.^[3] 

Table 2. Examples of Alloys

Do the “Gold Penny” lab^[4], or your teacher may choose to do this as a demonstration.

Do the Alloy Lab^[5].