Meaning & use
supersaturate
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Meaning
verbtransitivetechnicalchemistry
To make a solution hold more dissolved substance than it normally can at a given temperature, creating an unstable state.
Grammar: Takes an object: supersaturate a solution. Often used in the passive: the solution was supersaturated with salt.
Patterns
- supersaturate a solution
- supersaturate something with something
- be supersaturated with something
If you cool the mixture slowly, you can supersaturate the solution with sugar.
The lab technician supersaturated the liquid with carbon dioxide to study bubble formation.
A supersaturated solution will crystallize quickly if you drop in a tiny seed crystal.
Word forms
| third person singular | supersaturates |
|---|---|
| past tense | supersaturated |
| past participle | supersaturated |
| -ing form | supersaturating |
Common combinations
- supersaturated solution
- A supersaturated solution is unstable and may crystallize at any moment.
- supersaturate with
- They supersaturated the water with oxygen before the experiment.
- become supersaturated
- As the water cooled, it became supersaturated with dissolved minerals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- saturate
- Saturate means to reach the normal limit; supersaturate means to go beyond that limit.
Word family
- supersaturation noun
- The state of holding more dissolved substance than is normally possible.
- supersaturated adjective
- Describing a solution that contains more dissolved substance than usual.
Commonly confused: supersaturate or saturate?
supersaturate vs saturate
Saturate means to fill or soak completely up to the normal limit; supersaturate means to go beyond that limit.
Practice
In chemistry, to make a solution contain more dissolved solid than it normally can, you ___ it.
Choose one answer.
Supersaturate means to push a solution beyond its normal dissolving capacity. Saturate means to reach the normal limit, not exceed it; dissolve is the process of mixing a solid into a liquid; precipitate means to come out of solution as a solid.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “supersaturate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.