In Lab 3, Solubility Rules, students identified ionic salts as soluble or insoluble. The solubility of ionic salts is quantified by an equilibrium constant called Ksp, the solubility product. This Ksp refers to the dissolution reaction of the ionic salts.

Write the dissolution reaction for the ionic solids below. (Use the lowest possible coefficients. Include states-of-matter under the given conditions in your answer.)

a) FePO_4

b) ZnCO_3

c) NH_4Cl

a) FePO4 (s) ⇄Fe^3 + (aq) + PO4^3 - (aq)

b) ZnCO3 (s) ⇄Zn^2 + (aq) + CO3^2 - (aq)

c) NH4Cl (s) ⇄ NH4^ + (aq) + Cl^ - (aq)

Explanation:

An ionic solid simply means a solid substance that is held together by ionic bonds. When an ionic substance is added to water, the ions interact with the dipoles in water and is pulled apart to form the constituent cation and anion present in the ionic solid. This is the process that we have referred to as dissolution.

The Ksp of an ionic solid is obtained from the chemical equation that shows the dissolution of an ionic solid in water. The Ksp is actually an equilibrium constant that shows the extent of dissolution of an ionic solid in water.

a) FePO4 (s) ⇄Fe^3 + (aq) + PO4^3 - (aq)

b) ZnCO3 (s) ⇄Zn^2 + (aq) + CO3^2 - (aq)

c) NH4Cl (s) ⇄ NH4^ + (aq) + Cl^ - (aq)