[Sparrow]

I did an experiment in Chemistry were we found out the minimum temperature it takes for KNO₃ to dissolve completely in 5mL of water. Our results for our first three samples were:

2.0g             29C
4.0g             52C
6.0g             66C

Now we have to make a Solubility Curve for KNO₃. On the x-axis we have the temperature and on the y-axis we have the maximum amount that will dissolve completely in 100g of water. So I figured out that 40g of KNO3 would dissolve in 100g of water at 29C for the first sample. I did this by multiplying both the mass of water and the the amount of KNO3 by 20.  This worked up until I got to the third sample. For the third sample, 120g of KNO3 will dissolve in 100g of water at 66C? Is that possible? Can the Mass of the solute exceed the mass of the solvent?

[Dan]

Yup, it's possible - for example, potassium iodide has a solubility of over 1 kg/L in water at room temperature.