Differential solubility

Imagine you have a box of candies with different flavors. Some candies are sour and some are sweet. Now, imagine you have a cup of water and you put some of these candies into it.

Some candies will dissolve in water easily, while others might take some time or not dissolve at all. This happens because each candy has a different level of solubility, meaning their ability to dissolve in a liquid. In this case, water is the liquid.

Differential solubility is when some candies dissolve better than others, creating a difference in solubility among them. This can happen because of differences in their chemical properties, such as size, shape, and acidity.

In science, this concept is used to separate and purify substances. Scientists use a technique called differential solubility to dissolve one substance selectively, leaving behind others that do not dissolve. This technique can help them isolate specific compounds that they want to study or remove unwanted impurities from a mixture.

So, differential solubility is like having a box of candies with different abilities to dissolve in water, and scientists can use this to separate and purify substances to study them more effectively.