Question

What would you observe when:

a saturated solution of potassium nitrate prepared at ${60}^{\mathrm{o}}\mathrm{c}$ is allowed to cool to room temperature.

Answer 1

Saturated solution

The maximum amount of solute that can be dissolved in a solvent at a particular temperature gives rise to a saturated solution.

Unsaturated solution

The amount of solute will be less than the amount present in the saturated solution.

Supersaturated solution

It contains more amount of solute present in the saturated solution.

• When a saturated solution of potassium nitrate $\left({\mathrm{KNO}}_3\right)$ at ${60}^{\mathrm{o}}\mathrm{c}$ is allowed to cool, crystals of potassium nitrate will come out. This happens because of the decrease in solubility of the solute (potassium nitrate) in the solvent.
• We know that the solubility of the solute increases with an increase in temperature and decreases with a decrease in temperature.