Principle of Chemistry Laboratory (CHEM 1102 LAB)

Department of Chemistry
-1-

KSP DETERMINATION
Torres Dan Paul Aaron B., Patungan, Joeffrey U., Santos, Rikki Rose A., Astudillo, Danielle Abish G., Lugtu,
Jerliza Mae M., and Santiago, Rose Angelyn G.

Abstract: Solubility is often expressed as grams of solute per liter of solution .Molar solubilityis the number of moles of
solute that dissolve in forming 1 L of saturated solution of the solute .The solubility-product constant (Ksp) is the equilibrium
constant for the equilibrium between an ionic solid and its saturated solution and is a unitless number.Thus,the magnitude of
Ksp is a measure of how much of the solid dissolves to form a saturated solution. Different volume of water increasing from
first beaker up to the seventh beaker was added with different volume of KI and Pb(NO 3)2 decreasing form first beaker up to
seventh beaker. On the fourth beaker started forming precipitate to the last where it was greater than the value of ksp.

Keywords: ksp determination, precipitation, solubility-product

Introduction
The solubility product constant, KspKsp, is the
equilibrium constant for a solid substance dissolving in an
aqueous solution. It represents the level at which a solute
dissolve in solution. The more soluble a substance is, the
higher the KspKsp value it has. Consider the general
dissolution reaction below (in aqueous solutions):
aA(s)⇌cC(aq)+dD(aq)(1)(1)aA(s)⇌cC(aq)+dD(aq)
To solve for the KspKsp it is necessary to take the
molarities or concentrations of the products (cC and dD)
and multiply them. If there are coefficients in front of any of
the products, it is necessary to raise the product to that
coefficient power (and multiply the concentration by that
coefficient). This is shown below: Ksp=[C]c[D]d(2)
(2)Ksp=[C]c[D]d
Ion Pairs: With an ionic pair (a cation and an anion),
the KspKsp value calculated is less than the experimental
value due to ions involved in pairing. To reach the
calculated KspKsp value, more solute must be added
(Petrucci, R, 2012).
Materials and Methods
Materials and Reagent
The glassware/apparatus such as; beaker, graduated
cylinder, weighing scale and volumetric flask were used in
this experiment.
Potassium iodide, lead (II) nitrate, and deionized water
were the reagents used in this experiment

Ksp Determination
Solids are not included when calculating equilibrium
constant expressions, because their concentrations do not
Potassium iodide was weighed 0.33 grams and lead
change the expression; any change in their concentrations
(II) nitrate was weighed 0.33 grams and diluted using
are insignificant, and therefore omitted.
deionized water into 100 ml volumetric flask each,
Hence, KspKsp represents the maximum extent that a solid
respectively. The solution was mixed thoroughly.
that can dissolve in solution. For highly soluble ionic
compounds the ionic activities must be found instead of the
Seven (7) trials was done in this experiment, on the
concentrations that are found in slightly soluble solutions
first beaker 33 ml of water was poured, 28 ml of water on
(Petrucci, R, 2012).
the second beaker, 24 ml of water on the third beaker, 20 ml
of water on the fourth beaker, 16 ml of water on the fifth
Common Ion Effect: The solubility of the reaction is beaker, 12 ½ ml of water on the sixth beaker, and 8 ml of
reduced by the common ion. For a given equilibrium, a water on the seventh and last beaker.
reaction with a common ion present has a lower KspKsp,
and the reaction without the ion has a greater KspKsp.
Lead (II) nitrate was added into the beaker with
different volume. 4 ml was added on the first beaker, 6 ml
Salt Effect (diverse ion effect): Having an opposing
was added on the second beaker, 8 ml was added on the
effect on the KspKsp value compared to the common ion
third beaker, 10 ml was added on the fourth beaker, 12 ml
effect, uncommon ions increase the KspKsp value.
was added on the fifth beaker, 14 ml was added on the sixth
Uncommon ions are ions other than those involved in
beaker, and 16 ml was added on the last beaker.
equilibrium.

Potassium iodide was added after Lead (II) nitrate with
different volume. 4 ml was added n the first beaker. 4 ml
was added on the first beaker, 6 ml was added on the second
beaker, 8 ml was added on the third beaker, 10 ½ was added
on the fourth beaker, 13 ml was added on the fifth beaker,
14 ml was added on the sixth beaker, and 16 ml was added
on the last beaker. The solution was stirred to mixed well.
Results and Discussion
B The Ksp expression for the Potassium Iodide and
A Lead (II) Nitrate are as follows:
C D E dissolves. They can be used to calculate the solubility of an
G
F
Figure 1. different concentration of KI, Pb(NO 3)2 and
deionized water
Figure shows the changed in color of the solution in
different concentration of KI, Pb(NO 3)2 and deionized. On
the first 3 beaker there was no change in color with greater
volume of water and less volume of both lead (II) nitrate
and potassium iodide, it means that they were far from ksp,
beaker 4 start to change color and form a precipitate of
yellow with 20 ml of water, 10 ml lead (II) nitrate, and 10 ½
potassium iodide, the last beaker was the most yellow
Principle of Chemistry Laboratory (CHEM 1102 LAB)
Department of Chemistry
-2-
among 7 beakers, shows that the last beaker has the value
more than the ksp value.
Written below is the chemical reaction of the
mixed solutions:
Pb(NO3)2(s)  Pb2(aq) + 2NO3(aq)
2KI(s)  2K(aq) + I2(aq)
The formed precipitate is color yellow which was
identified to be the PbI 2. However, PbI2 is still slightly
soluble in water in the following reaction:
PbI2  Pb2(aq) + I2(aq) with a Ksp = [Pb2][I2]= 8.5x10-5
Ksp= [Pb2(aq)][ NO3(aq)]2
Ksp= [K(aq) ]2[I2(aq)]
Conclusion
The equilibrium between a solid compound and its
ions in solution provides an example of heterogeneous
equilibrium. The solubility-product constant (or simply the
solubility product), ksp, is an equilibrium constant that
expresses quantitatively the extent to which the compound
ionic compound, and the solubility can be used to calculate.
Bibliography
Petrucci, Ralph H., et al. (2012). General Chemistry:
Principles and Modern Applications. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnqHb4O3etl