Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry

Solubility: The degree to which one substance dissolves in another. Usually expressed as mass of solute per volume or mass of solvent at a specified temperature. Liquids that dissolve in each other in any ratio are said to be miscible. Liquids which have little or no mutual solubility are termed immiscible. A substance which has little or no solubility is termed insoluble.

--video to be added--
Click image to see a video of NH₄Cl dissolving in water.		NH₄Cl solubility data. The solubility of NH₄Cl (the solute) in water (the solvent) is 37.2 g NH₄Cl per 100 g water at 20^oC.

<--- Oil layer

<--- Vinegar layer (acetic acid + water)

The oil and vinegar layers of Italian dressing are insoluble (immiscible).

Related terms: Noncovalent molecular force, anion-cation interaction, dipole-dipole interaction, hydrogen bond, ion-dipole interaction, cation-pi interaction, aromatic stacking, aromatic-aromatic interaction, pi stacking, London force, polar solvent, nonpolar solvent, emulsion, saturated, distribution coefficient (D), partition coefficient (P), logP
Wikipedia entry
Return to glossary index