DISSOLUTION OF IONIC AND
COVALENT SUBSTANCES
Year 11 Chemistry – Aqeuous Solutions and Acidity
Australian Curriculum learning objectives

ACSCH0651: The solubility of substances in water, including ionic and
molecular substances, can be explained by the intermolecular forces
between species in the substances and water molecules, and is
affected by changes in temperature.
Resources required
 Water: A Unique Chemical captioned video from VEA. (Duration: 25
minutes.)
 Why do substances dissolve in water? Worksheet x class set
 Solubility Curve2 worksheet x class set
Lesson outcome: students can explain how, using intermolecular forces,
water is able to dissolve ionic and covalent compounds.
Lesson outline
1.
Students watch video with captions turned on. Students should watch
the entire video to provide context, but the teacher should focus on
the “Water: The nearly universal solvent” section.
2.
Hand out the Why Do Substances Dissolve in Water? worksheet for
students to read and complete.
3.
Hand out the Solubility Curve worksheet for students to read and
complete with reference to the solubility curve chart included. The
relationship between solubility and temperature should be highlighted.
Opportunity for further activity
Students can do an investigation to determine the solubility of different ionic
and covalent compounds by adding them to water and observing what
happens.
Students can do an investigation for one substance (e.g. sodium chloride) to
determine the relationship between temperature and solubility and create
their own solubility curve, by adding small amounts of solute to 100ml of water
1
http://bit.ly/1mOiq3M
2
http://bit.ly/1fQjJri
of known temperature – increasing the temperature using a hot plate,
adding more until it is saturated, and continuing.