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Questions 4-15 · Q5

Q.What is effect of temperature on solubility of solids in water? Give examples.

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✓ Free question

Step 1. How solubility of a solid changes with temperature depends on whether that particular solute's dissolution process is endothermic or exothermic -- there is no single universal rule for all solids.

Step 2. For solids like KCl that dissolve endothermically (absorbing heat), Le Chatelier's principle says raising temperature (adding heat) favours MORE dissolution (since dissolving further absorbs some of the added heat), so solubility INCREASES with temperature.

Step 3. For solids like CaCl2 and Li2SO4.H2O that dissolve exothermically (releasing heat), raising temperature instead favours the REVERSE process (crystallisation, which would absorb heat), so solubility DECREASES with temperature.

Step 4. Importantly, this is not a strict rule about exo/endothermicity alone -- e.g. CaCl2 dissolution is exothermic yet ITS solubility still increases with temperature, and NH4NO3 dissolution is endothermic and its solubility also increases -- so each solute-solvent system's actual solubility-temperature curve (Fig 2.1) must be checked experimentally, not simply inferred.

✓Final answer

The temperature effect on solid solubility depends on the sign of the dissolution enthalpy: endothermic dissolvers (e.g. KCl, KNO3, NaNO3) generally get MORE soluble as temperature rises; some exothermic dissolvers (e.g. Na2SO4) get LESS soluble, though this is not a strict universal rule (e.g. CaCl2 and NH4NO3 both show increasing solubility with temperature despite opposite dissolution thermochemistry) -- each system must be checked experimentally.

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