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RiveraCI RiveraCI
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11 years ago
Compare and contrast the concepts of unsaturated, saturated, and super saturated solutions.  How would you make each type of solution?  What would they be useful for?
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wrote...
11 years ago
I only know that a saturated solution is when no more solute will dissolve in the solvent. And so unsaturated is when there is more that can be dissolved.

Super saturated I have never come across, maybe its when the solvent is heated just below boiling point so it has maximum dissolving capability? and the most solute is capable of being dissolved in that given moles of solvent.

Make? Isn't that obvious?

Useful for... How would I know??? its just a solution... Unless youre talking about chemical reactions that need to take place in solution?
wrote...
11 years ago
the terms unsaturated, saturated and super saturated applies to solutions.
When you have a solvent (like water) and a solute (like sugar) you can make a solution by dissolving sugar in water. If you can keep adding sugar into water and dissolve it (make it disappear), then it is unsaturated. After you add so much sugar, the water cannot dissolve anymore, so the more sugar you add after this point, the sugar just stays on the bottom as solid. When the solvent (water) cannot dissolve anymore solute (sugar), it is saturated.

But, you can force it to dissolve a little more by heating up the saturated sugar and water solution. Then you can actually add more sugar to the solution than you normally could. Then you let it cool gently and slowly, then it will look like an ordinary, clear solution of sugar and water. This is called a super saturated solution. If you add more sugar when it is cooled down, it will bring down the extra sugar you added earlier when you heated it. This happens because the solubility of solid solute in liquid solvent increases as the temperature increases.

These are normally useful in things like making drinks. Some pop/soda drinks were super-saturated with sugar. Sometimes it may also be used in aqua-culture (growing stuff in water).
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