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Trends in Solubility of Group 2 Hydroxides & Sulfates (CIE AS Chemistry)

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Trends in Solubility of Group 2 Hydroxides & Sulfates

Group 2 hydroxides

  • Going down the group, the solutions formed from the reaction of Group 2 oxides with water become more alkaline
  • When the oxides are dissolved in water, the following ionic reaction takes place:

O2- (aq) + H2O(l) → 2OH- (aq)

  • The higher the concentration of OH- ions formed, the more alkaline the solution
  • The alkalinity of the formed solution can therefore be explained by the solubility of the Group 2 hydroxides

Solubility of the Group 2 hydroxides table

Group 2 hydroxide Solubility at 298 K
(mol / 100 g of water)
Mg(OH)2 2.0 x 10–5
Ca(OH)2 1.5 x 10–3
Sr(OH)2 3.4 x 10–3
Ba(OH)2 1.5 x 10–2

  • The hydroxides dissolve in water as follows:

X(OH)2 (aq) → X (aq) + 2OH (aq)

    • Where X is the Group 2 element
  • When the metal oxides react with water, a Group 2 hydroxide is formed
  • Going down the group, the solubility of these hydroxides increases
  • This means that the concentration of OH- ions increases, increasing the pH of the solution
  • As a result, going down the group, the alkalinity of the solution formed increases when Group 2 oxides react with water

The solubility of the Group 2 hydroxides 

Group 2 - Trends Group 2 Hydroxide, downloadable AS & A Level Chemistry revision notes

Going down the group, the solubility of the hydroxides increases which means that the solutions formed from the reactions of the Group 2 metal oxides and water become more alkaline going down the group

Group 2 sulfates

  • The solubility of the Group 2 sulfates decreases going down the group

The solubility of the Group 2 sulfates

 Group 2 - Trends Group 2 Sulfate, downloadable AS & A Level Chemistry revision notes

Going down the group, the solubility of the sulfates decreases

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Caroline

Author: Caroline

Expertise: Physics Lead

Caroline graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Chemistry and Molecular Physics. She spent several years working as an Industrial Chemist in the automotive industry before retraining to teach. Caroline has over 12 years of experience teaching GCSE and A-level chemistry and physics. She is passionate about creating high-quality resources to help students achieve their full potential.