Benzoic Acid Blizzard in a Bottle

In this lab, you will learn about how some solutes that are only partly soluble can be forced to fully dissolve with heat. When a solute has dissolved as much as it possibly can, and no more will dissolve no matter how much you stir it, the solution is said to be “saturated.” If you take a saturated solution and heat it, the extra solute will dissolve. When you then cool the solution, the extra solute that dissolved with heat will once again precipitate. This lab is a beautiful application of that principle of solubility.

Related NY State Academic Standards: MST4.C.C.PS3.1

Be sure to check out our Educational Resources, featuring thousands of activities, lesson plans, constructed-response questions, rubrics, teacher resources, multimedia, and more!