Question

The table shown gives the solubility product constant (Ksp) for a few salts of mercury. From the table, which saturated solution has the greatest value for [Hg+]?

Salt Ksp
Hg2Br2 6 × 10–23
Hg2F2 3.1 × 10–6
Hg2Cl2 1 × 10–18
Hg2I2 5 × 10–29

Answer 1

The solubility product constant (Ksp) provides information about the solubility of a salt. Higher Ksp values indicate greater solubility, which in turn implies a higher concentration of the dissociated ions in the saturated solution.

From the given table, the saturated solution with the greatest value for \([Hg^{2+}]\) (concentration of mercury ions) would be the one with the highest Ksp value. Among the salts provided:

Hg2F2 with \(Ksp = 3.1 × 10^{-6}\)

This means that the saturated solution of Hg2F2 has the highest concentration of \([Hg^{2+}]\) among the options.