What is solubility?
Solubility describes how much substance can dissolve in a solvent at equilibrium under stated conditions.
How it works and key principles
How solutions form: Interactions between solute and solvent particles matter; substances do not dissolve equally in every liquid. The effect of temperature depends on the substance. Pressure matters for gases: lowering the pressure of a carbonated drink allows some dissolved gas to form bubbles.
Evidence, examples and limits
Rate versus amount: Stirring and smaller particles often increase the rate of dissolving, not necessarily the final equilibrium solubility. A saturated solution does not dissolve more solute overall at the stated conditions. Compare solubilities only with solvent, temperature and, where relevant, pressure specified.
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