Prepare an Insoluble Salt
2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 2. Inorganic Chemistry → Acids, Bases & Salt Preparations
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The precipitation reaction pattern
An insoluble salt is prepared by precipitation, in which two clear solutions are mixed and a solid forms and sinks. The solid that appears is the precipitate, and it is the salt itself. The reaction pairs two soluble starting solutions and swaps their partners, so one product turns solid while the other stays dissolved.
What you know already
From Solubility Rules you already know which salts dissolve and which do not. This note uses that table as a design tool, choosing two soluble reactants whose swapped partners give the insoluble salt you want to collect.
Key points of understanding
- Insoluble salts are made using a precipitation reaction.
- The solid salt formed must be insoluble in water for the method to work.
- Two soluble salts swap partners: soluble salt 1 plus soluble salt 2 gives the insoluble salt plus a third soluble salt.
- In symbol form the pattern is AB plus CD giving AD plus CB.
- The partner-swapping pattern is why chemists also call it double decomposition.
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1.The precipitation reaction pattern
An insoluble salt is prepared by precipitation, in which two clear solutions are mixed and a solid forms and sinks. The solid that appears is the precipitate, and it is the salt itself. The reaction pairs two soluble starting solutions and swaps their partners, so one product turns solid while the other stays dissolved.
Key points
- Insoluble salts are made using a precipitation reaction.
- The solid salt formed must be insoluble in water for the method to work.
- Two soluble salts swap partners: soluble salt 1 plus soluble salt 2 gives the insoluble salt plus a third soluble salt.
- In symbol form the pattern is AB plus CD giving AD plus CB.
- The partner-swapping pattern is why chemists also call it double decomposition.
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