Salting Out
Hardchemistry
Addition of salt reduces solubility of non-electrolyte due to:
Select the correct option:
Solution
Incorrect! Answer:
Hydration shell competition
- Term: 'Salting out' refers to the decrease in solubility of a protein or other non-electrolyte when a high concentration of salt is added.
- Solvation: Normally, water molecules surround (solvate) the non-electrolyte molecules to keep them in solution.
- Salt effect: Salts (like NaCl or (NH4)2SO4) dissociate into ions which have a vastly higher charge density than neutral molecules.
- Mechanism: Water molecules are strongly attracted to these ions to form hydration shells.
- Solubility Drop: The ions 'steal' the available water molecules. With less water available to solvate the non-electrolyte, it precipitates out of the solution.
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About This Question
- Subject
- chemistry
- Chapter
- solutions
- Topic
- salting out
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Hydration shell competition
- Term: 'Salting out' refers to the decrease in solubility of a protein or other non-electrolyte when a high concentration of salt is added.
- Solvation: Normally, water molecules surround (solvate) the non-electrolyte molecules to keep them in solution.
- Salt effect: Salts (like NaCl or (NH4)2SO4) dissociate into ions which have a vastly higher charge density than neutral molecules.
- Mechanism: Water molecules are strongly attracted to these ions to form hydration shells.
- Solubility Drop: The ions 'steal' the available water molecules. With less water available to solvate the non-electrolyte, it precipitates out of the solution.
This hard difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter solutions, covering the topic of salting out. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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