How does Ksp relate to solubility?

Question

Naomi Aronson · Accepted Answer

Ksp is the constant of or ratio of the amount of solute to solvent for any compound.

K sp is often written in scientific notation like 2.5 x #10^-3# The larger the negative exponent the less soluble the compound is in solution. The larger the real value of the Ksp the more soluble the compound is in solution 2.5 x #10^-3# > 2.5 x #10^-6#

Luna Chen · Answer

#K_"sp"# refers to the #"solubility product"#. It is another equilibrium expression.

For a sparingly soluble binary salt, #MX#, we may write its solubility equilibrium as: #MX(s) rightleftharpoons M^+ + X^-# #K_"sp"=[M^+][X^-]# Usually #K_"sp"# assumes standard conditions of temperature and pressure. See here for further treatment. For once I found the appropriate link.

Ellie Andrews · Answer

undefined Ksp, or solubility product constant, is a measure of the extent to which a sparingly soluble compound dissolves in a solvent. It is the product of the concentrations of the ions in solution raised to the power of their stoichiometric coefficients in the balanced chemical equation for the dissolution. The Ksp value directly relates to the solubility of the compound, as it indicates the maximum concentration of ions that can be present in a saturated solution before precipitation occurs. Higher Ksp values correspond to higher solubilities, while lower Ksp values indicate lower solubilities.