NAME : GEORGIANA ELIZABETH DAWSON

STUDENT ID : 18ADB01374

PRACTICAL GROUP : P(2)

PRACTICAL SUBGROUP & MEMBERS : GROUP 2

1. CHIN CI XIN

2. NG HUNG YEE

NO. OF EXPERIMENT : EXPERIMENT 4

TITLE OF EXPERIMENT : THE SOLUBILITY OF SOME SALTS OF

GROUP II ELEMENTS

DATE OF EXPERIMENT : 17 JANUARY 2019

DATE OF SUBMISSION : 31 JANUARY 2019

NAME OF LECTURER : MS. CHANG CHEW CHEEN

TITLE

The solubility of some salts of Group II elements.

OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate the trends in solubility of the Group II carbonates, sulphates , sulphites, and

hydroxides.

INTRODUCTION

Solubility can be defined as the formation of a saturated solution from dissolving a quantity of

solute in a given measurement of solvent. (Rennie, 2016) The table below shows the solubility

of Group II salts in water at 298 K.

Singly – charged anions Doubly – charged anions

Compound Solubility / mol per Compound Solubility / mol per

100g of water 100 g of water

MgCl2 5.6 x 10-1 MgCO3 1.8 x 10-4

CaCl2 5.4 x 10-1 CaCO3 0.13 x 10-4

SrCl2 3.5 x 10-1 SrCO3 0.07 x 10-4

BaCl2 1.5 x 10-1 BaCO3 0.09 x 10-4

Mg(NO3) 4.9 x 10-1 MgSO4 3600 x 10-4

Ca(NO3) 6.2 x 10-1 CaSO4 11 x 10-4

Sr (NO3) 1.6 x 10-1 SrSO4 0.62 x 10-4

Ba(NO3) 0.4 x 10-1 BaSO4 0.009 x 10-4

Mg(OH)2 0.020 x 10-3 MgCrO4 8500 x 10-4

Ca(OH)2 1.5 x 10-3 CaCrO4 870 x 10-4

Sr(OH)2 3.4 x 10-3 SrCrO4 5.9 x 10-4

Ba(OH)2 15 x 10-3 BaCrO4 0.011 x 10-4

According to the table, the solubility of singly – charged anions are higher than the solubility

of doubly – charged anions. Generally, we can see that solubility of the compounds decreases

as the you go down the elements of Group II. However, the solubility of hydroxides increases

as you go down the elements of Group II. For each salts, the number of drops of anion added

is aligned with the solubility.

APPARATUS

Test tubes, 1mL teat pipette.

MATERIALS

0.1 M solutions of Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+ cations, 1.0 M solutions of 𝑂𝐻 − , 0.5 M of 𝑆𝑂42− and

𝑆𝑂32− ions, 0.05 M solution of 𝐶𝑂32− .

PROCEDURE

Two rows of four test tubes were set up. For the first row, the test tube were labelled

Mg2+, the second test tube Ca2+, the third test tube Sr2+ and the fourth test tube Ba2+. 1mL of

the appropriate cation solution were added into each test tube using a 1mL teat pipette The

second row of test tubes were labelled 𝑂𝐻 − , the second test tube 𝑆𝑂42− , the third test tube 𝑆𝑂32−

and the fourth 𝐶𝑂32− . The 𝑂𝐻 − was added drop by drop to each cation solution while shaking

until the first sign of precipitation appears. The number of drops of solution used were recorded

in a table. Steps 5 and 6 were repeated for the remaining cations and anions. If the precipitate

appears suddenly, during the addition of a drop, the precipitate was classified as slight (s) or

heavy (h). If no precipitate appears after forty drops, it was written as 40+ and the salt is

regarded as soluble.
RESULTS

Cation solution Number of drops of anion solution added to give a precipitate

𝑂𝐻 − 𝑆𝑂42− 𝑆𝑂32− 𝐶𝑂32−

Mg2+ 4 (s) 40+ (soluble) 40+ (soluble) 40+ (soluble)

Ca2+ 5 (s) 40+ (soluble) 5 (h) 2 (s)

Sr2+ 20 (s) 2 (s) 1 (h) 2 (s)

Ba2+ 18 (s) 1 (h) 1 (h) 1 (s)

DISCUSSION

From this experiment, we can notice that the solubility of Group II hydroxides increases going

down the group. The sulphates, sulphites and carbonates of Group II elements, however,

decreases going down the group. (Chemguide.co.uk, 2019) This can be observed through the

precipitation that was observed. As the cation of the Group II elements go down the group, less

drops of sulphates, sulphites and carbonates are needed for precipitation to occur while more

drops are needed for precipitation for the hydroxides. This can be related to the solubilities

because the solubilities of salts are proportional to the number of drops of anions added.

Precautions that should be taken when carrying out this experiment is to label the solutions

properly to avoid confusion between the colourless solutions. Besides that, the number of drops

and precipitation should be counted and observed with accuracy to avoid human error. Lastly,

the chemicals used should be disposed properly its designated waste bottle and not down the

sink so as to not corrupt the drain pipes.

QUESTIONS

1. For Group II, what are the trends in solubility of the salts listed below:

(a) hydroxides

The solubility of Group II hydroxides increases going down the group.

(b) sulphates

The sulphates of Group II elements decreases going down the group.

(c) sulphites

The sulphites of Group II elements decreases going down the group.

(d) carbonates

The carbonates of Group II elements decreases going down the group.

2. Use Table 1 to answer the following questions

(a) Explain the trends in solubility for each type of salt for Group II elements as listed in Table

1.

According to Table 1, the solubility of each type of salt listed decreases as the salts go

down the group except for the hydroxides. This is because of the size of anions which

are larger. The difference of size between anion and cation will effect the solubility of

the salts. (Chemistry LibreTexts, 2019)

(b) Do the solubilities give above for the carbonates, sulphates and hydroxides agree with your

findings in this experiment.

Yes.
(c) So singly- or double-charged anions give the more soluble compounds?

Singly – charged anions give more soluble compounds compared to doubly – charged

anions.

CONCLUSION

Solubilities of Group II salts decreases going down the group except hydroxides of Group II

elements.
REFERENCES

Chemguide.co.uk. (2019). Solubility of the hydroxides, sulphates and carbonates of the Group

2 elements in water. [online] Available at:

https://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group2/solubility.html

[Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Chemistry LibreTexts. (2019). 9.10: Lattice energies and solubility. [online] Available at:

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Book%3A_Inorganic_Chemist

ry_(Wikibook)/Chapter_09%3A_Ionic_and_Covalent_Solids_-

_Energetics/9.10%3A_Lattice_energies_and_solubility

[Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Rennie, R. (2016). A dictionary of chemistry. 7th ed. Oxford, United Kingdom: OXFORD

UNIVERSITY PRESS, p.504.