What is solubility?

Have you ever wondered why some things dissolve in water and others don't? For example, salt dissolves in water, but sand doesn't. This is because of a property called solubility.

Solubility is the ability of a substance to dissolve in a liquid. The more soluble a substance is, the more of it will dissolve in the liquid. For example, salt is very soluble in water, so a lot of it will dissolve in a small amount of water. Also, the reason why you can dissolve sugar in your hot chocolate is because sugar is soluble. Sand, on the other hand, is not soluble in water, so it will not dissolve in water.

There are a few things that affect solubility. One is the temperature of the liquid. The hotter the liquid, the more soluble most substances are. For example, if you put salt in a cup of cold water, not all of the salt will dissolve. But if you put the same amount of salt in a cup of hot water, all of the salt will dissolve.

Another thing that affects solubility is the size of the particles of the substance. The smaller the particles, the more soluble the substance is. For example, if you grind up salt into a fine powder, it will dissolve more easily in water than if you just put a big chunk of salt in the water.

Solubility is a very important property in science and everyday life. It is used in everything from cooking to cleaning to making medicines. So next time you are wondering why something dissolves in water and something else doesn't, you will know that it is all because of solubility!

Here are some concrete examples of soluble and insoluble substances:

• Soluble substances: salt, sugar, coffee, tea, vinegar, alcohol
• Insoluble substances: sand, dirt, gravel, oil, grease

What is ductility?

Ductility is a special property of certain materials that allows them to be stretched into thin wires without breaking. Imagine you have a piece of clay and you can roll it and stretch it into a long, thin snake-like shape without it breaking. That's similar to what ductility is! Some metals, like copper and silver, are very ductile, which means they can be stretched into long wires. It's a bit like how you can stretch and bend a rubber band without it snapping.