Katherine Brooke

IB Chemistry HL

Grade 12

IA investigation into the effects of temperature on the solubility product Ksp

of NaNO3 dissolved in water.

September 2013

Teacher: Mr K Johnson
How does temperature affect the solubility product (Ksp) of NaNO3 dissolved in water?

Equilibrium can be either physical or chemical. The balance created when you have liquid-vapour
equilibrium is a physical equilibrium. So too is the equilibrium created when you have a saturated
solution. What is actually occurring is that the rate of the crystals forming is the same as the rate
that they are being dissolved. This investigation is to show how temperature affects the rate at
which the crystals dissolve. In this experiment different amounts of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) will be
dissolved in the same volume of water and the water heated until all the sodium nitrate has
dissolved. The reaction in this experiment is : NaNO3 (s)  Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq)

Variables

Independent

Mass of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) dissolved – this is the control variable because we add the NaNO3 to
the distilled water. It will be measured using an electronic balance.

Dependent

Temperature of the water (H2O) – this will be monitored at all times with an alcohol thermometer so
as to ensure accuracy when reading off the thermometer.

Controls:

Volume of water – this was kept constant to ensure that the different amounts of salt dissolved
were only due to a change in temperature.

Volume of water lost through evaporation – this was kept as constant as possible by using a thin
boiling tube to ensure the minimum loss of water through evaporation.

The impurities in the water and the NaNO3 – this was kept constant by making sure that the NaNO3
came from the same bottle of chemicals and the H2O was from the same bottle of distilled water.
This would result in systematic error.

The amount of NaNO3 lost – this can be a problem if something such as a stirring rod and glass
thermometer are constantly being put in the boiling tube and then taken out again. this was
prevented by keeping them both in the water and salt solution at all times.

Materials

 Sodium nitrate
 Boiling tube
 Bunsen burner
 Alcohol thermometer
 Electronic balance
 Glass stirring rod
 Weigh boats
 Spatula
 Distilled water
  Measuring cylinder
 Beaker with ice and water

Fig 1 showing the set up of apparatus

Procedure

1) Set up the apparatus as shown in fig 1 with the exception that the Bunsen burner remains
unlit.
2) Add 10.0cm3 of distilled water into a boiling tube with a capacity of 25cm3
3) Using a weigh boat measure out 10.00 grams of NaNO3.
4) Add approximately half of this mass to the water. It should all dissolve; the water
temperature should also drop as this process is endothermic.
5) Once all of this has been dissolved, keep adding NaNO3 until it stops dissolving and a small
amount of crystals are left in the boiling tube.
6) Once this is the case, light the Bunsen burner and add a small amount of heat all the while
stirring with the glass stirring rod. When all the NaNO3 has dissolved, record the temperature
and the mass of the remaining NaNO3 still in the weigh boat which you should use to work
out the mass of the NaNO3 dissolved in the water.
7) Next, record the initial mass of NaNO3 in the weigh boat (you may need to add some more if
you are running out) and add between one and two grams of NaNO3 to the boiling tube.
Record the mass of the NaNO3 left in the weigh boat
 8) Heat the mixture gently until all the NaNO3 has dissolved all the while stirring with the glass
rod. Don’t worry if you heat it up too much, just remove the Bunsen burner and place the
beaker of ice water on the bottom of the boiling tube. Note: be careful that you don’t cool
the boiling tube too much, do this in small time intervals or you can simply wait for the
mixture to cool by itself.
9) Once small crystals begin to form, (this is very easy to see, they normally form round the
bottom or on the stirring rod or thermometer) note down the temperature.
10) Repeat steps 7 through 9 until the temperature starts to get too high. For safety
precautions, stop at around 90oC.
11) Repeat steps 1 through 10 a further two times to ensure that you have enough data.

Results

Table 1 showing the raw data and calculated data

Initial mass Final mass of Mass of NaNO3 Total mass of Temperature at which
of NaNO3 in g NaNO3 in g added in g NaNO3 in solution all the NaNO3 is
±0.01 ±0.01 ±0.01 in g ±0.01 dissolved in oC ±0.5
10.82 4.09 6.73 6.73 13.5
4.29 2.46 1.83 8.56 26.0
2.94 1.24 1.70 10.26 37.0
3.89 2.80 1.09 11.35 44.5
2.80 1.82 0.98 12.33 57.0
2.87 1.84 0.94 13.27 65.0
2.24 1.25 0.99 14.26 76.5

Sample calculation 1: How to calculate the mass of NaNO3 added.

Mass added = initial mass – final mass

Example:

Mass added = 10.82g – 4.09g = 6.73g

Total mass Moles of Concentration Concentration Concentration Solubility

of NaNO3 in NaNO3 in of NaNO3 in of Na+ in mols of NO3- in Product Ksp of
-3
solution in g solution in mols dm dm-3 mols dm-3 NaNO3 in
±0.01 mols mol2dm6
6.73 0.079 7.9 7.9 7.9 62.7
8.56 0.101 10.1 10.1 10.1 101.4
10.26 0.121 12.1 12.1 12.1 145.7
11.35 0.134 13.4 13.4 13.4 178.3
12.33 0.145 14.5 14.5 14.5 210.4
13.27 0.156 15.6 15.6 15.6 243.7
14.26 0.168 16.8 16.8 16.8 281.5
Sample calculation 2: how to calculate the number of moles present

Mols = mass/Mr Mr of NaNO3 = 85g/mol

Example:

Mols = 14.26 / 85 = 0.168mols

Sample calculation 3: how to calculate the concentration of the solution:

Conc = mols/ volume volume must be in dm3

Example:

Convert volume to dm3  10cm3/1000 = 0.01 dm3

Concentration = 0.168mols/0.01dm3 = 16.8mol dm-3

Sample calculation 4: How to calculate the Ksp of the solution

Background- Ksp is the name given to the equilibrium constant for an ionic solid in equilibrium
with its aqueous ions. This can only be used when the solution is saturated.

The Ksp value = [Na+] [NO3-] mol2 dm-6

Example: 7.9mol dm-3 x 7.9mol dm-3 = 62.7 mol2 dm-6

Presented data

Graph1: showing the relation of the mass of NaNO3 in g vs the temperature in oC

16
y = 0.1189x + 5.5394
14
R² = 0.9837
12
mass of NaNO3 in g

10

0
- 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0
Temperature in oC

Graph 2 : showing the relationship of the Solubility Product Ksp of NaNO3 in mol2dm6 vs the
temperature in oC

300.00
y = 3.498x + 15.15

R² = 0.997
Solubility Product Ksp of NaNO3 in mol2dm6

250.00

200.00

150.00

100.00

50.00

-
- 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0
Temperature in oC
Conclusion and evaluation

It is very evident from the two graphs that as the temperature increases the more NaNO3 one
can dissolve in a solution. This shows that similarly to the liquid-vapour equilibrium the solubility
product equilibrium established by a saturated solution can also be affected by a temperature
change. This relationship is also directly proportional. We can assume this because the line of
best fit in the second graph is linear thus showing that there is a linear relationship.

As for the reliability of our data, the line of best fit has an R2 value of 0.997 which shows that our
measurements were very accurate. However this was more due to luck rather than actual
procedural advantage as even though the method calls for the experiment to be repeated three
times this was not done and it was only done once. This meant that there were only seven data
points that the conclusion is based in. This is shown through the systematic error which results
in there being a y intercept of 15.15 in Graph 2 which should go through the origin. This shows
that all the measurements were out by some amount and this may be due to a misreading right
in the beginning of the electronic balance or an inaccurate amount of water inside the boiling
tube. We also know that there is an error as we know that at 250C the solubility of NaNO3 in
water is 92.1g/100ml hence the mass that we should have got at 250C should have been 9.21 g
but we only got about 8.5g. However, these issues would be able to be fixed through the
repetition of the experiment.

Improvements:

Repetition: as previously mentioned it would be best if this experiment was repeated as there
would be many more data points collected. At present it has the limitation of all the data points
being contaminated by the same error if there was such an error.

Loss of water through evaporation: another factor that may have affected the readings,
especially near the end would be the loss of water due to evaporation. This would occur more
substantially at higher temperatures and so those readings would be most affected. A suggested
change would be to place a stopper on the boiling tube with two holes for the thermometer and
the stirring rod. This would reduce the amount of water lost. It would also be advisable to do the
higher temperature readings separately as there would be a swift increase in temperature and a
reading taken quickly rather than the gradual increases and decrease in temperature which
takes longer and allows for more water to evaporate therefore affection the readings

Small quantities result in larger errors: Through using 10.0cm3 of water, if there is an error while
measuring out the volume, this error will be more pronounced than if say 20 cm3 of water was
used. This would also be the case with the amount of salt dissolved. There is some inaccuracy
given by the time it takes to notice the crystals and to take the reading of the temperature. If a
larger volume of water were used a greater mass of NaNO3 would dissolve and the slight
inaccuracy in the reading would be minimised.

More accurate Instruments: The use of an alcohol thermometer limits the accuracy of the
temperature readings. If an electronic thermometer or temperature sensor such as a
thermocouple was used such as is available in the laboratory, a greater accuracy in the
temperature readings would be obtained.