tion: ).This diagram shows THREE separate beakers. Each has a wire plugged into a wall outlet. In each case, the wire leads from the wall to the beaker and is split resulting in two ends. One end leads to a light bulb and continues on to a rectangle labeled with a plus sign. The other end leads to a rectangle labeled with a minus sign. The rectangles are in a solution. In the first beaker, labeled “Ethanol No Conductivity,” four pairs of linked small green spheres suspended in the solution between the rectangles. In the second beaker, labeled “K C l Strong Conductivity,” six individual green spheres, three labeled plus and three labeled minus are suspended in the solution. Each of the six spheres has an arrow extending from it pointing to the rectangle between the ions in a crystal are so large, or the ion-dipole attractive forces between the ions and water molecules are so weak, that the increase in disorder cannot compensate for the energy required to separate the ions, and the crystal is INSOLUBLE. Such is the case for compounds such as calcium carbonate (limestone), calcium phosphate (the inorganic component of bone), and iron OXIDE (rust).SOLUBILITY RulesSome combinations of aqueous reactants result in the formation of a solid precipitate as a product. However, some combinations will not produce such a product. If solutions of sodium nitrate and ammonium chloride are mixed, no reaction occurs. One could write a molecular equation SHOWING a double-replacement reaction, but both products, sodium chloride and ammonium nitrate, are soluble and would remain in the solution as ions. Every ion is a spectator ion and there is no net ionic equation at all. It is useful to be able to predict when a precipitate will occur in a reaction. To do so, you can use a set of guidelines called the solubility rules (Tables 7.5.1 and 7.5.2 ).. According to the solubility rules table, cesium nitrate is soluble because all compounds containing the nitrate ion, as well as all compounds containing the alkali metal ions, are soluble. Most compounds containing the bromide ion are soluble, but lead (II) is an exception. Therefore, the cesium and nitrate ions are spectator ions and the lead (II) bromide is a precipitate. The balanced net ionic reaction is:Classify each compound as soluble or insolubleAll nitrates are soluble in water so Zn(NO3)2 is soluble.All bromides are soluble in water, except those combined with Pb2+ so PbBr2 is insoluble.All phosphates are insoluble, so Sr3(PO4)2 is insolubleClassify each compound as soluble or insoluble.SummarySubstances that dissolve in water to yield ions are called electrolytes. Nonelectrolytes are substances that do not produce ions when dissolved in water. Solubility rules allow prediction of what products will be insoluble in water.Contributions & AttributionsThis page was constructed from content via the following contributor(s) and edited (topically or extensively) by the LibreTexts development team to meet platform style, presentation, and quality: