Meaning & use
saturated solution
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Meaning
nouncountablechemistry
A liquid mixture that already holds as much dissolved substance as it can at a given temperature, so any extra stays undissolved.
Grammar: Countable: a saturated solution, two saturated solutions.
Patterns
- a saturated solution of something
- prepare a saturated solution
The students stirred in salt until they had a saturated solution and some crystals sat at the bottom.
A saturated solution of sugar can hold no more sugar at that temperature.
If you cool a saturated solution, some of the dissolved solid may come out as crystals.
Word forms
| plural | saturated solutions |
|---|
Common combinations
- prepare a saturated solution
- We had to prepare a saturated solution of copper sulfate for the experiment.
- cool a saturated solution
- When you cool a saturated solution slowly, large crystals can form.
- saturated solution of salt
- A saturated solution of salt tastes extremely harsh.
- heat a saturated solution
- Heating a saturated solution lets it dissolve more solid.
- a saturated solution at room temperature
- A saturated solution at room temperature may not be saturated once it is warmed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- concentrated solution
- A concentrated solution simply has a lot of dissolved substance, but it may still be able to take in more, so it is not necessarily saturated.
- supersaturated solution
- A supersaturated solution holds even more than a saturated one should, which is unstable and can crystallize suddenly.
- unsaturated solution
- An unsaturated solution is the opposite case, able to dissolve more solid before it reaches its limit.
Opposites
Word family
- saturate verb
- to fill with as much of something as possible
- saturation noun
- the state of being full to the limit
- saturated adjective
- unable to hold any more
- solution noun
- a mixture in which one substance is dissolved in another
Commonly confused: saturated solution or saturated fat?
saturated solution vs saturated fat
This is a nutrition term for a type of fat, and has nothing to do with dissolving a solid in a liquid.
Practice
Maya keeps adding salt to warm water, and eventually some salt stays at the bottom no matter how long she stirs. The water is now a ____.
Choose one answer.
Once extra solid stays undissolved, the liquid holds all it can, so it is saturated. An unsaturated or dilute solution could still take in more salt.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “saturated solution”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.