In the last example, solid sugar was dissolved into water. But what is the effect of temperature when you are dissolving a gas into water? Click on the images to check your answer.

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Dissolved CO₂ is what makes soda fizzy. CO₂ dissolved in soda is an example of a gas dissolved in a liquid. Think about how you prevent a soda from going flat.

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Decrease the temperature by putting soda in the refrigerator.

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Decrease the agitation by avoiding shaking up the soda.

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Increase the pressure by keeping the lid on the soda bottle.

Dissolved gases play an important role in nature. Fish use the oxygen dissolved in water for respiration. If oxygen isn’t dissolved, the fish will die. Look at the graph below that shows the relationship between temperature and the amount of gas dissolved in water.

In your notes, answer the following questions about the graph above.

1. What temperature will dissolve the greatest amount of O₂?

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   0°C

2. What happens to the amount of O2 dissolved as the temperature increases?

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   The amount of O₂ that is able to dissolve decreases as the temperature increases.

3. Compare and contrast the effect of temperature on the solubility of gases to the effect of solubility on solids.

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   Temperature has the opposite effect on the solubility of solids and gases. Increasing temperature increases the solubility of solids, but it decreases the solubility of gases. The graph of temperature and solubility for a solid would slope in the opposite direction than the one above.

Practice! Complete the card sort by clicking on the correct column for the factors that affect solubility into the correct place.