Name: ________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: _________
Designing a Solubility Experiment
Introduction:
A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances. These are most often liquids in which a
solvent (e.g., water) dissolves a solid solute (e.g., kool-aid powder). There are a variety of factors which affect
the rate of dissolution, or in other words, how fast the solid solute dissolves completely into the solvent. In this
lab, you will choose 1 of 3 factors to explore that can affect the rate of dissolution. These 3 factors are
agitation (stirring), temperature, and particle size of the solute.
Objective:
The purpose of this lab is to explore how and why the rate of dissolution can be affected by variables such as
particle size, agitation, and temperature. The solvent you will be working with is water, and the solute will be
sugar. You and your group will be responsible for forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting your own
experiment, gathering and organizing data, analyzing your data, and finally forming a conclusion based on your
results.
The Experimental Design
Question:
What question are you trying to answer? (Focus on the variable that your group picks!)
Materials:
It is up to your group to determine what materials you will need to perform your experiment. Think about what
you will need in order to keep your experiment consistent throughout, while only testing for one variable. Keep
some open room in this section, because you will probably think of additional materials as you start to create
the steps for your experiment.
List your materials here using bullet points:
Group Identification:
Think about what kinds of groups you are going to develop in order to answer your question. What will the
control group be? The control group is the standard group (what you will compare your experimental groups
to). What will the experimental group(s) be? You can have more than one experimental group depending on
how you want to carry this experiment out.
Control Group:
Experimental Group(s):
Variable Identification:
The independent variable is what you change or manipulate in an experiment. You give it to the experimental
group or you may give each experimental group a different quality or quantity of it.
The dependent variable is what you are planning to measure in this experiment. What will you record as data?
This variable is influenced by the independent variable (hence it is dependent).
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Constants/Controlled Variables:
All variables (other than the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE) need to stay constant throughout all of your groups.
Hypothesis:
The hypothesis should be an if,then statement. Remember to use this format: If _________ is related to
_________, then _____________________.
Hypothesis:
Procedure:
In the space below, write out the steps of your experiment. Remember to keep all variables the same
throughout the experiment, except for the one variable that is being tested. Be as specific as possible. Write
down every little step!!!!! Do not use bullet points (use numbers instead).
Procedure:
Safety:
As you carry out the procedure above, list ALL of the safety precautions you will need to take. List general lab
safety rules as well as any specific lab safety rules that apply to your own procedure.
Safety Considerations:
Data:
Create a data table in the space below. Before you develop your data table, think of these questions:
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What type of data are you recording?
How often will you record data?
What will your headings be in the data table? What units will the variables be measured in?
Use the box below as the outline of your data table.
Data Table:
Now the next step is to carry out the experiment in the lab!
As you are in the lab you will need to refer to:
- Materials
- Procedure
- Data Table
Conclusion Questions:
1. Refer to the data that you collected and analyze it. What trend(s) do you notice? Identify and discuss it.
2. Restate your hypothesis and make a conclusion. Do the data support or not support your hypothesis?
Refer to specific data points as you explain.
3. Were there any sources of error in this lab that could have influenced your data? List and discuss them.